Following a slight decline in August, the seasonally adjusted pace of existing-home sales across the U.S. ticked up 2.4 percent in September to its highest pace of the year but remains 1.7 percent lower one a year-over-year basis while the inventory of unsold homes on the market is running 6 percent higher versus the same time last year.
The share of first-time buyers last month remains at 29 percent, unchanged for the past three months, while the percentage of individual investors ticked up from 12 to 14 percent, down from 19 percent in September of 2013.
Existing-home sale in the West jumped 7.1 percent last month to an annual rate of 1.20 million but remains 4.0 percent lower, year-over-year.