As the share of first-time buyers climbed to the highest level in more than four years, the annual rate of existing homes headed North last month.
The number of
pre-owned single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-operatives that were sold during September was 484,000.
That
was a 10 percent decline from the downwardly revised total the prior month. But existing home sales were up 3 percent from a year prior.
The National Association of Realtors reported the data Thursday.
During the first-nine months of 2016, existing home sales amounted to 4.15 million units.
Applying seasonal adjustments, the NAR said the annual rate of existing home sales was 5.47 million. The rate picked up from a downwardly revised 5.30 million in August and a downwardly revised 5.44 million in September 2015.
“The home search over the past several months for a lot of prospective buyers, and especially for first-time buyers, took longer than usual because of the competition for the minimal amount of homes for sale,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun stated in the report. “Most families and move-up buyers look to close before the new school year starts. Their diminishing presence from the market towards the end of summer created more opportunities for aspiring first-time homeowners to buy last month.”
At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.74 million last month, the Northeast had a month-over-month improvement of 6 percent — the most of any region.
September’s annual rate was 1.25 million in the West, a 5 percent increase from the previous month. A 4 percent increase left the rate at 1.32 million in the Midwest, and a 1 percent up tick n the South put the rate there at 2.16 million.
On just single-family homes, the seasonally adjusted annual U.S. rate of sales was 4.86 million last month.
As of Sept. 30, 2016, there were 2.04 million existing homes for sale. The the total housing inventory was up 2 percent from a month earlier but down 7 percent from a year earlier.
Average time on the market lengthened to 39 days from 36 days in August. But time on the market tumbled from 49 days in September 2015.
The latest inventory would take 4.5 months to clear out at the current pace of sales. The supply dipped from 4.6 months in August.
“Inventory has been extremely tight all year and is unlikely to improve now that the seasonal decline in listings is about to kick in,” Yun commented. “Unfortunately, there won’t be much relief from new home construction, which continues to be grossly inadequate in relation to demand.”
The median U.S. sales price in September 2016 was $234,200, while the average price was $276,200.
September 2016 marked the 55th consecutive year-over-year increase in median home prices.
First-time buyer share climbed past a third — the highest share since July 2012.
Distressed sales accounted for 4 percent in September, and 21 percent of activity was all-cash sales.
