Having dipped 3.4 percent in October, the seasonally adjusted pace of existing-home sales in the U.S. dropped another 10.5 percent in November, the largest monthly decline since July of 2010.
And at an annual rate of 4.76 million sales, the pace is now 3.8 percent lower than at the same time last year, the first year-over-year decline in over a year and the slowest pace in 19 months.
An increase in closing times due to new lending disclosure laws could partially be to blame for the November slowdown, however, but as the National Association of Realtors notes, “properties [actually] sold faster in November” than the month before.
At the same time, the median sale price ticked up by $700 (0.3 percent) in November to $220,300, which is 6.3 percent higher on a year-over-year basis and the first move up in three months, but 6.8 percent below the record $236,400 median sale price set in June.
And in terms of inventory, the number of unsold homes on the market across the country dropped 3.3 percent to 2.04 million homes at the end of November, which is 1.9 percent lower versus the same time last year versus 4.5 percent lower on a year-over-year basis in October.
The pace of existing-home sales in the West dropped 13.9 percent to an annual rate of 990,000 sales in November which is 4.8 percent lower versus the same time last year.
I blame it on the warm weather.