October 2016 Existing-Home Sales

NAR released a summary of existing-home sales data showing that housing market activity rose for the second straight month. October’s existing-home sales reached the 5.60 million seasonally adjusted annual rate and existing-home sales are up 5.9 percent from a year ago which is the highest pace since February 2007.
The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $232,200 in October, up 6.0 percent from a year ago.
Regionally, all four regions showed growth in prices from a year ago, with the West leading at 7.8 percent. The South had an increase of 7.4 percent, and the Midwest followed with a 5.8 percent increase. The Northeast had the smallest gain of 2.9 percent from October 2015.
From September, all four regions experienced inclines in sales with the South having the biggest increase of 2.8 percent. The Midwest followed with a gain of 2.3 percent. The Northeast had a gain of 1.4 percent while the West had the smallest gain of 0.8 percent.
All four regions showed an increase in sales from a year ago with the West leading all regions with a 10.4 percent gain. The Midwest followed with a 6.3 percent gain. The South had a gain of 4.7 percent and the Northeast had the smallest increase of 1.4 percent. The South led all regions in percentage of national sales at 39.6 percent while the Northeast has the smallest share at 13.4 percent.
October’s inventory figures are down 0.5 percent from last month to 2.02 million homes for sale and the level remains below historical averages. Inventories are considerably down, 4.5 percent, from a year ago. It will take 4.3 months to move the current level of inventory at the current sales pace. It takes approximately 41 days for a home to go from listing to a contract in the current housing market, down from 57 days a year ago.
Single family sales increased 2.3 percent while condos remained flat compared to last month. Single family home sales inclined 6.6 percent and condo sales were also flat compared to a year ago. Both single family and condos had an increase in price with single family up 5.9 percent at $233,700 and condos up 6.2 percent at $220,300 from October 2015.