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Sales of previously owned homes rallied in November as more buyers came off the sidelines, breathing life into the housing market ahead of the holidays.
Total existing-home sales increased 4.8% from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.15 million last month, the National Association of Realtors® reported Thursday. The November sales figure, which excludes new construction, represented a 6.1% from one year ago, the largest year-over-year gain since June 2021.
“Home sales momentum is building,” says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “More buyers have entered the market as the economy continues to add jobs, housing inventory grows compared to a year ago, and consumers get used to a new normal of mortgage rates between 6% and 7%.”
Home prices continued to march higher, with the median existing-home sales price of $406,100 up 4.7% from a year ago, the 17th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.
Mortgage rates also remained elevated, averaging 6.81% in November, according to Freddie Mac.
“I think what may be happening is that consumers are getting used to these mortgage rates,” says Yun. “They are no longer expecting that 3% to 4% mortgage rate that happened during the early years of COVID.”
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