EXISITNG HOME SALES
Existing home sales for November 2023
  • Prior month 3.79M
  • Existing home sales 3.82M vs 3.77M estimate annualized. First gain in 5 months.
  • Up 0.8% on the month. Last month the gain was 4.1%
  • Year-over-year, sales fell -7.3% (down from 4.12 million in November 2022).
  • Inventory 1.130M or 3.5 months (down -1.7%)
  • National median home price $387,600, up 4.0% from November 2022. That is the highest ever and the 5th consecutive month of year-over-year price increase.

Regionally

  • Northeast Region:

    • Existing-home sales decreased by 2.1% from October to November.
    • Annual sales rate: 470,000 in November, a 13.0% decrease from November 2022.
    • Median price: $428,600, a 4.8% increase from the previous year.

  • Midwest Region:

    • Existing-home sales increased by 1.1% from October to November.
    • Annual sales rate: 940,000 in November, an 8.7% decrease from one year ago.
    • Median price: $280,800, a 4.9% increase from November 2022.

  • South Region:

    • Existing-home sales improved by 4.7% from October to November.
    • Annual sales rate: 1.77 million in November, a 4.3% decrease from the prior year.
    • Median price: $351,500, a 3.4% increase from last year.

  • West Region:

    • Existing-home sales decreased by 7.2% from October to November.
    • Annual sales rate: 640,000 in November, an 8.6% decrease from one year before.
    • Median price: $603,200, a 5.3% increase from November 2022.

Looking at other details:

  • Market Time:

    • Properties typically stayed on the market for 25 days in November.
    • This duration is up from 23 days in October and 24 days in November 2022.
    • 62% of homes sold in November were on the market for less than a month.

  • First-Time Buyers:

    • Represented 31% of sales in November.
    • This is an increase from 28% in both October 2023 and November 2022.
    • The annual share of first-time buyers was 32%, as reported in NAR's 2023 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.

  • All-Cash Sales:

    • Made up 27% of transactions in November.
    • This is a decrease from 29% in October but an increase from 26% in November 2022.

  • Investor and Second-Home Buyers:

    • Purchased 18% of homes in November.
    • This is an increase from 15% in October and 14% from one year ago.

  • Distressed Sales:

    • Accounted for 1% of sales in November.
    • This percentage is virtually unchanged from the previous month and year.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun:

"The latest weakness in existing home sales still reflects the buyer bidding process in most of October when mortgage rates were at a two-decade high before the actual closings in November. A marked turn can be expected as mortgage rates have plunged in recent weeks."

According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.95% as of December 14, falling below 7% for the first time since August 10. That's down from 7.03% the previous week but up from 6.31% from a year ago.