Home Sale Both Existing and Pending Are Strong the Month of October
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) pending home and existing home sales rose in the month of October 2021. This is surprisingly good news considering the low inventory and rising home prices.
As of October 2021, the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) rose from 116.5 to 125.2 which is an increase of 7.5%. Existing home sales were the highest level since January 2021 at an adjusted annual rate of 6.34 million which was an 0.8% increase.
It is still a concern that first-time and young home buyers will be priced out of the market. The first-time buyer share fell to 29% in October, up from 28% in September and down from 32% a year ago. The October inventory level declined from 1.26 to 1.25 million units and is still down from 1.42 million units a year ago.
There is good news for new home construction. The supply of resales is very low. October 2021 reported that unsold inventory was sitting at a 2.4-month supply. This is down from the 2.5-month supply reported in October 2020.
Although the supply was down from October 2020, the average days on market were down in October 2021 to 18 days. It was reported that 82% of homes sold in October 2021 were on the market for just one month. Out of these transactions, 24% were all-cash which was also up from 19% reported last year in October.
The low inventory does continue to bump up home prices. The median home price reported for October 2021 was up 13.1% at 353,900 from a year ago. This is the 116th consecutive month of year-over-year increases making it the longest-running streak recorded.
If you are in the market for a new or existing home, now is still a good time to buy. Contact a local professional Realtor to help you with your search and purchase of a new home.