Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes accelerated in September as declining mortgage rates and a pickup in available properties on the market encouraged home shoppers. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that existing home sales rose 1.5% last month from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.06 million units. That's the fastest sales pace since February. Sales jumped 4.1% compared with September last year. The national median sales price climbed 2.1% in September from a year earlier to $415,200. The housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when mortgage rates climbed from historic lows. Affordability remains a daunting challenge for most aspiring homeowners following years of skyrocketing home prices.
Pending home sales in the United States slid to an all-time low in January as high mortgage rates, record-high home prices, and possibly the terrible weather last month hindered those seeking to buy. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that its Pending Home Sales Index, which is an indicator of home sales based on contract signings, declined 4.6% to 70.6 last month. Pending transactions fell 5.2% from the year-ago period. There were month-over-month declines in the Midwest, South and West, with the most significant drop in the South. Despite stretches of high winds and low temperatures, sales in the Northeast rose modestly.
