Existing home sales are on a bit of a rollercoaster right now, having fallen for four straight months, climbed in June and July, then retreating in August. And now, existing home sales are on the way back up.
According to a new report from the National Association of Realtors, existing home sales rose by 7% in September over August, with every region seeing an increase.
The increase in existing home sales in September matches up with the increase in pending home sales seen in August, which showed that home sales were likely to bounce back with August’s pending home sales becoming September’s actual home sales.
According to NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, the increase in home sales was driven by recent increases in housing inventory.
"Some improvement in supply during prior months helped nudge up sales in September," Yun said. "Housing demand remains strong as buyers likely want to secure a home before mortgage rates increase even further next year."
Overall, housing inventory was down in September by 0.8% compared to August, but Yun notes that the market should see inventory increase soon.
"As mortgage forbearance programs end, and as homebuilders ramp up production – despite the supply-chain material issues – we are likely to see more homes on the market as soon as 2022," Yun said.
NAR’s report also showed that the median sales price for an existing home sale continued to fall in September, falling from $356,700 in August to $352,800 in September. This marks the third month in a row that the median sales price has fallen from June’s all-time record high of $363,300.
According to NAR’s report, properties sold in September typically remained on the market for 17 days, the same amount of time as it was in August and July. Beyond that, 86% of homes sold in September 2021 were on the market for less than a month.