Existing Home Sales Bounce Back in September

Wells Fargo Research Team Wells Fargo

Existing home sales rose 0.7 percent in September to a 5.39 million unit pace, following three consecutive monthly drops. Existing sales fell on a year-to-year basis, however, marking the first drop since mid-2016.

Sales Rebound Over the Month…

After declining three straight months, existing home sales rose 0.7 percent in September. Despite this past month’s gain, sales fell on a year-to-year basis, which captures the cumulative effect of the prior three months of declines.
Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma likely weighed on September’s sales. Existing home sales fell 0.9 percent the South, which was the only region seeing a decline.

…But Overall Activity Remains Muted

 While sales are down 1.5 percent year to year, the inventory is off even more, down 6.4 percent on the year. The sharper drop in inventories really drives home the point that home sales are being held back primarily due to the lack of homes for sale.
 For the 67th consecutive month, prices increased year to year, rising 4.2 percent. Gains have moderated significantly, however, and are rising at their slowest year-to-year pace since June 2014.

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Wells Fargo Research Team

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