Home sales in the US rose to an eight-month high in October. The change observed in the US housing market is further evidence of how even a small drop in mortgage interest rates attracts more buyers, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Sales of existing homes increased 1.2% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.1 million - the highest level since February, the National Association of Realtors reported. That beat the 1% increase economists polled by the publication had forecast.
The October sales data reflected homebuying activity in August and September, when mortgage rates fell to an 11-month low, making purchases more affordable for many buyers. Interest rates have risen slightly in recent weeks but remain below 6.3%, according to Freddie Mac.
Home prices in the southern and western regions of the United States are falling. Buyers in many markets have been able to negotiate price reductions and other concessions. “Prospective buyers have a level of comfort they haven’t had before. "We're seeing a more balanced market right now," said Brad Case, chief housing economist at CoStar's Homes.com.
However, there were more than half a million more sellers than buyers in the housing market in October, the largest such gap recorded in seasonally adjusted data since 2013, according to an analysis by real estate brokerage Redfin.
On a year-over-year basis, home sales in October increased 1.7%.
Despite gaining the upper hand in negotiations, buyers are cautious. Broader economic uncertainty has led to more home purchase contracts being canceled in recent months.
Nationally, there were 1.52 million homes for sale or under contract at the end of October, down 0.7% from September and up 10.9% from October 2024, the NAR said.
Although the number of homes for sale increased from a year earlier, inventory is still below pre-pandemic levels, pushing up home prices nationwide.
The national median price of existing homes rose to $415,200 in October, up 2.1% from a year earlier, the NAR said.
“We are still tight on inventory,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. “We still need 300,000 additional homes to come on the market to return to pre-Covid conditions.“
Detailed statistics on average property prices in Bulgaria by city and neighborhood can be found at imot.bg