US home sales tumble for ninth month as mortgage rates bite
US existing home sales tumbled for a ninth straight month in October as the 30-year fixed mortgage...
Despite weakening demand, housing supply remains tight, limiting the slowdown in house price inflation.
US existing home sales tumbled for a ninth straight month in October as the 30-year fixed mortgage rate hit a 20-year high and prices remained elevated, pushing homeownership out of the reach of many Americans.
Existing home sales dropped 5.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.43 million units last month, the National Association of Realtors said on Friday (Nov 18). Outside the plunge during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, this was the lowest level since December 2011.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast home sales would tumble to a rate of 4.38 million units.
House resales, which account for a big chunk of US home sales, slumped 28.4 percent on a year-on-year basis in October. The report followed on the heels of news on Thursday that single-family homebuilding and permits for future construction tumbled to the lowest levels since May 2020. Housing inventory also declined.
