For the eighth month in a row, existing home sales are on the downside, indicating an increasingly sluggish market, says a new survey published by the National Association of Realtors.
The survey shows that sales were off by 1.5% in September, compared to the month before, and a big 23.8% off over September of 2021.
In a press release accompanying the survey, the NAR noted that “three out of four major U.S. regions noted month-over-month sales contractions, while the West held steady.”
But looking at things from the perspective of the fall of 2021, the survey shows that “sales dropped in all regions.”
In a statement, Lawrence Yun, chief economist with NAR, noted that the “housing sector continues to undergo an adjustment due to the continuous rise in interest rates, which eclipsed 6% for 30-year fixed mortgages in September and are now approaching 7%.”
Yun added that “expensive regions of the country are especially feeling the pinch and seeing larger declines in sales.”
Home sales in the Northeast were off by 1.6% for an average price of $418,500; with the Midwest off by 1.7% for an average price of $281,500.
The South, meanwhile, saw a drop of 1.9% for a median price of nearly $352,000.
Conditions were most stable in the West, where there was no drop in the home sale price. The median price in the West, at the same time, is now the highest in the nation at nearly $600,000.
By Garry Boulard
