Existing-Home Sales Climb 9.4% in September to 6.5 Million

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) is reporting that total existing-home sales, completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 9.4% from August to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6.5 million in September. Year-over-year existing homes sales increased 20.9%. Total housing inventory declined from the prior month and one year ago to 1.47 million at the end of September. At the current pace of sales there is a record low of 2.7 months of unsold inventory. In prepared remarks, Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist said, “Home sales traditionally taper off toward the end of the year, but in September they surged beyond what we normally see during this season. I would attribute this jump to record-low interest rates and an abundance of buyers in the marketplace, including buyers of vacation homes given the greater flexibility to work from home.”