The National Association of Realtors reported today that existing-home sales in October, while at a healthy pace, fell 3.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.36 million in October from 5.55 million in September. In spite of the decline, sales are still 3.9% higher than one year ago.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says a sales cooldown in October was likely given the pullback in contract signings the last couple of months. “New and existing-home supply has struggled to improve so far this fall, leading to few choices for buyers and no easement of the ongoing affordability concerns still prevalent in some markets,” he said. “Furthermore, the mixed signals of slowing economic growth and volatility in the financial markets slightly tempered demand and contributed to the decreasing pace of sales.”
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