For two months in a row, existing-home sales in the U.S. are up according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). They even surpassed June’s cyclical sales peak to become the “highest annualized pace in nearly a decade.” That’s obviously good news at Russ Lyon Sotheby’s.
Total existing-home sales grew 2.0 percent in October from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.49 million in September to 5.60 million in October. “October's sales pace is 5.9 percent above a year ago.”
NAR’s chief economist is calling it a fall revival for the housing market. At Russ Lyon Sotheby’s, it should lead to buyers snatching up homes even though there’s low inventory. Wages are also going up so that should lead to more home sales, as well.
In October, the median existing-home price for all types of housing was $232,200, up 6.0 percent from October the year before. October of this year marks the 56th consecutive month of year-over-year gains.
Across the country, total housing inventory declined 0.5 percent and has fallen year-over-year for 17 straight months. So that makes it rough for buyers at Russ Lyon Sotheby’s. Properties up for sale on average stayed on the market for 41 days in October, up from 39 days in September but down from a year ago.
Russ Lyon Sotheby’s and others are expecting the economy will improve in early 2017. As a result, mortgage rates since the election have gone up to around 4 percent. This has resulted with some with adjustable rate mortgages to get a rate locked in.
The numbers for first-time home buyers were slightly down from September. In October, first-time buyers made up 33 percent of sales, down from 34 percent in September but still up from this time a year ago.
As far as cash sales, those were up 22 percent in October, slightly higher than September.
Foreclosures and short sales moved forward to 5 percent in October, up from 4 percent in September.
So, if you’re in the market for a home at Russ Lyon Sotheby’s, now might be a good time to buy since interest rates are expected to go up even more. We’ve seen home sales go up in both September and October of this year.