October 2023 Existing-Home Sales Fall to Lowest in 13 Years

By: Michael Hyman

NAR released a summary of existing home sales data showing that housing market activity this October declined 4.1% from September 2023. October’s existing home sales reached a 3.79 million seasonally adjusted annual rate. October’s sales of existing homes weakened 14.6% from October 2022.

• The national median existing home price for all housing types reached $391,800 in October, up 3.4% from a year ago.

• Regionally, in October, all four regions showed price growth from a year ago. The Northeast had the largest gain of 7.5%, followed by the Midwest with an incline of 4.2%. The South had an increase of 3.5%, while the West region rose by 2.3%.
• October’s inventory of unsold listings as of the end of the month was up 1.8% from last month, standing at 1,150,000 homes for sale. Compared with October of 2022, inventory levels were down by 5.7%. It will take 3.6 months to move the current level of inventory at the current sales pace, well below the desired pace of 6 months. Inventory conditions continue to be a challenge for potential home buyers.  
• It takes approximately 23 days for a home to go from listing to a contract in the current housing market. A year ago, it took 21 days. 

• From a year ago, all four regions had double-digit declines in sales in October. The Northeast had the biggest dip of 15.8%, followed by the West, which fell by 14.8%. The South decreased by 14.6%, followed by the Midwest, which was down by 13.9%.   
• Compared to September 2023, three of the four showed regions showed declines in sales. The Midwest was flat with no gain. The South region had the biggest decline in sales, at 7.1%, followed by the Northeast, with a dip of 4.0%. The West region had the smallest decline last month of 1.4%.  
• The South led all regions in percentage of national sales, accounting for 44.6% of the total, while the Northeast had the smallest share at 12.7%.

• In October, single-family sales decreased 4.2%, and condominium sales were down 2.4% compared to last month. Single-family home sales were down 14.6%, while condominium sales fell 14.6% compared to a year ago. The median sales price of single-family homes rose 3.0% to $396,100 from October 2022, while the median sales price of condominiums increased 7.6% to $331,000.