The NAR data on sales of existing homes in September shows a decrease of 1.0 percent to 3.84 million units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate compared to a small upward revision to 3.88 units in August. The September level is just below the consensus of 3.90 million units in the Econoday survey of forecasters. Compared to a year ago, sales are down 3.5 percent in September.

While availability of homes for sale and prices are more favorable, homebuyers remain especially sensitive to changes in mortgage interest rates. The Freddie Mac rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage had a monthly average of about 6.44 percent in August, which is around the time borrowers would have secured a mortgage for closing a sale in September. In September the monthly average rate fell to 6.18 percent, while for October to date the average is about 6.38 percent. This suggests a boost to homebuying in the October sales report when that data is reported at 10:00 ET on Thursday, November 21.
The median price of an existing home is down 2.3 percent to $404,500 in September after $414,200 in August, but up 3.0 percent from $392,700 in September 2023. The median price of an existing home tends to decline in the second half of the year, but the underlying trend is still one of moderate price increases. The supply of homes available for sale is up to 4.3 months' worth in September, up from 4.2 in August and 3.4 in September 2023. It is the highest since 4.5 in May 2022 during the pandemic shutdown months and matches 4.3 in June 2019.

Sales of single-family existing homes are down 0.6 percent in September to 3.47 million units after 3.49 million units in August and down 2.3 percent from 3.55 million units in September 2023. Sales of condos and co-ops are down 5.1 percent in September to 370,000 units from 390,000 units in the prior month and down 14.0 percent year-over-year.

The listing of an existing home averaged 28 days on the market compared to 26 days in August and 21 days in September 2024. The lengthening of time on the market still suggests that while the pace of sales has slowed, it remains one in which units are moving steadily. First-time buyers accounted for 26 percent of all sales, the same as in August when it hit a record low share.

US existing home sales are expected to rise at a 3.9 million seasonally adjusted annual rate, a slight uptick from August's 3.86 million annual rate.

Existing home sales tally the number of previously constructed homes, condominiums and co-ops in which a sale closed during the month. Existing homes (also known as home resales) account for a larger share of the market than new homes and indicate housing market trends.

This provides a gauge of not only the demand for housing, but the economic momentum. People have to be feeling pretty comfortable and confident in their own financial position to buy a house. Furthermore, this narrow piece of data has a powerful multiplier effect through the economy, and therefore across the markets and your investments. By tracking economic data such as home resales, investors can gain specific investment ideas as well as broad guidance for managing a portfolio.

Even though home resales don't always create new output, once the home is sold, it generates revenues for the realtor. It brings a myriad of consumption opportunities for the buyer.

Refrigerators, washers, dryers and furniture are just a few items home buyers might purchase. The economic"ripple effect" can be substantial especially when you think a hundred thousand new households around the country are doing this every month. Since the economic backdrop is the most pervasive influence on financial markets, home resales have a direct bearing on stocks, bonds and commodities. In a more specific sense, trends in the existing home sales data carry valuable clues for the stocks of home builders, mortgage lenders and home furnishings companies.