While the seasonally adjusted pace of existing-home sales across the U.S. ticked up 1.4 percent in October to an annual rate of 5.22 million sales, the pace is now running 5.1 percent lower versus the same time last year, down from 4.1 percent lower on a year-over-year basis in September.
At the same time, while the inventory of existing homes on the market declined 1.6 percent in October to 1.85 million homes with typical seasonality in play, inventory levels are now running 2.8 percent higher versus the same time last year (versus 44 percent higher in San Francisco) and the year-over-year change in the median sale price has dropped from 4.2 to 3.8 percent.
And out West, while the pace of existing-home sales ticked up 2.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.11 million sales in October, the pace remains 11.2 lower on a year-over-year basis and the median sale price, which slipped 1.4 percent in October to $382,900, is now running 1.9 percent higher on a year-over-year basis, down from 10.2 percent higher on a year-over-year basis in June.