Having inched up 0.8 percent in October, the seasonally adjusted pace of existing-home sales across the U.S. ticked up 1.9 percent in November to an annual rate of 6.46 million sales, which was 2.0 percent lower than at the same time last year and the fourth straight month with a year-over-year decline, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.
There were 1.11 million homes on the market at the end of November, down 9.8 percent from October and 13.3 lower than at the same time last year while the inventory of new homes on the market is up nearly 40 percent to a 13-year high and purchase mortgage activity, which is a leading indicator, is down.
And while the median existing-home sale price last month ($353,900) was 13.1 percent higher than it was at the same time last year ($310,000), driven by an increase in higher-end sales, the median sale price was unchanged from October and 2.5 percent lower than in June ($362,800).
