Existing Home Sale Report for the Month of November

Existing-home sales in the Northeast and the Midwest have picked up in November, says the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) housing stat. Sales in the South and the West, on the other hand, have waned. Notably, all the four regions have sold more homes compared to the numbers they had sold a year ago.

Total existing-home sales (single-family homes, townhomes, co-ops, and condos) have come down to 5.35 million in November; a drop from October’s 5.46 million (calculations based on seasonally adjusted annual rate). This represents a drop of 1.7%. The year-over-year overall sales have risen by 2.7%.

Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, is optimistic about the prospects of the housing market. He feels that the low numbers can be put down to sloppy inventory. The economy, otherwise, has shown resilience; what with 2 million jobs added in 2019. Builders should look to build more factory-module homes rather than investing all their energies in on-site homes, feels Yun.

The NAR data further reveals that the median existing-home price stands at $271,300 for November, spread over all the housing types. This figure marks an upswing of 5.4%, calculated year-over-year. For the statistically inclined, this makes it 93 consecutive months of year-over-year gains.

The NAR data reveals that the total housing inventory, sitting at 1.64 million at November-end, has come down by 7.3% from October-end. It is a decrease of 5.7% compared to year-over-year (the figure was 1.74 million in November ‘18”). Unsold inventory stands at the 3.7-month mark, shifting from 3.9-month at October end. Inventory was locked at 4.0-month in November ‘18’.

The Days on Market for November (38 days) has jumped in surplus of 5%, compared to the Days on Market for October (36 days).

32% of sales can be put down to the First Home Buyers in November. This is more than what it was in October (31%) and less than the numbers recorded in November 2018 (33%). The annual share of FHBs, according to the NAR’s 2019 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, is 33%.

Studying NAR data for different regions

Regionally speaking, the existing-home sales performance has been a mixed bag- with two regions returning winners and the other two not quite so. Year-over-year, they have all done well.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest have come up by 2.3% compared to October, standing at an annual rate of 1.32 million in November. The year-over-year increase is 1.5%. The median price has shot up by 5.9% over the last year to come up to $209,700.

For the Northeast, existing-home sales in November have risen by 1.4% to an annual rate of 700,000. The figure corresponds to a drop of 1.4% year-over-year.  The median Price, reveals the NAR data, has increased by 3.9% year-over-year to stand at $301,700.

The South region has had poor returns in November. Its existing-home sales for November have dropped by 3.9% (the annual rate being 2.24 million for November). This is an increase of 3.7% measured year-over-year. The median price in the South stands at $234,400, a rise of 4.8%, year-over-year.

The existing-home sales in the West have come down by 3.5%. At 1.09 million, it is still a 4.8% increase, measured year-over-year. The median price in the West stands at $410,700, an uptick of 7.1% year-over-year.

Single-family and Condo/Co-op Sales

The single-family home sales stand at 4.79 million (seasonally adjusted rate) for November, down by 1.2% from the 4.85 million recorded in October. The November figure is, however, 3.5% above the November 2018 figures. The median home price for the single-family homes declares the NAR data, which stands at $274,000 in October, reflecting an uptick of 5.4% year-over-year.