US Existing Home Sales Rise 1.2% in October as Mortgage Rates Decline

(New York=Yonhap Infomax) Jin Woo Choi – Existing home sales in the United States increased in October, supported by a decline in mortgage rates.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) on the 20th (local time), seasonally adjusted existing home sales in the US rose 1.2% in October from the previous month to an annualized rate of 4.10 million units.

This figure represents a 1.7% increase compared to the same period last year and exceeded market expectations of 4.05 million units.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR, stated, "Despite the temporary federal government shutdown, home sales increased in October as buyers took advantage of lower mortgage rates."

According to Freddie Mac, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate in October was 6.25%, down 0.10 percentage points from the previous month (6.35%). Compared to the same period a year earlier (6.43%), the rate fell by 0.18 percentage points.

Housing inventory stood at 1.52 million units, down 0.7% from the previous month. At the current sales pace, this represents 4.4 months of supply, a decrease from 4.5 months in the prior month.

The median price of existing homes was $415,200, up 2.1% from a year earlier.

By property type, single-family home sales increased 0.8% year-on-year, with a median price of $420,600. Condominium and co-op sales rose 5.4%, with a median price of $363,700.

jwchoi@yna.co.kr

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