Steel Markets

Existing Home Sales Soar Despite Low Inventory and Higher Prices

November 19, 2020

Existing home sales continued to soar in October, marking five straight months of gain. Sales increased 4.3 percent from September and 26.6 percent from a year ago.

Median price for an existing home jumped 16 percent year-over-year to $313,000 and most homes on the market sold in less than a month.

Inventory continued to decline, falling to a record low of 2.5 months at the current sales pace. Inventory was estimated at 1.42 million.

“Considering that we remain in a period of stubbornly high unemployment relative to pre-pandemic levels, the housing sector has performed remarkably well this year,” said Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors’ chief economist.

“The surge in sales in recent months has now offset the spring market losses,” he said. “With news that a COVID-19 vaccine will soon be available, and with mortgage rates projected to hover around 3 percent in 2021, I expect the market’s growth to continue into 2021.” Yun expects existing-home sales to rise by 10 percent to 6.0 million in 2021.

Single-family home sales increased 4.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.12 million in October and rocketed 26.7 percent from the 2019 pace. The median price jumped 16 percent from a year ago to $317,700.

Sales of condos and co-ops rose 5.8 percent from September and 25.9 percent from a year ago to a SAAR of 730,000 units. Median price leapt 10.3 percent to $273,600.

On a month-over-month basis, existing home sales climbed 4.7 percent in the Northeast, 8.6 percent in the Midwest, 3.2 percent in the South and 1.4 percent in the West. Home prices were up by double-digit rates compared to a year ago in all four regions.