The NAR data on sales of existing homes show an increase of 4.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.15 million units in November. The level is above the consensus of 4.05 million units in the Econoday survey of forecasters. Sales of existing homes are up 6.1 percent compared to a year ago. Sales are higher in three of four regions. In November from October, sales are up 8.5 percent in the Northeast, 5.3 percent in the Midwest, 5.6 percent in the South, and unchanged in the West.

NAR Chief Economists Lawrence Yun attributed the upward"momentum" in home resales to ongoing job gains in an expanding economy, increased inventory as current owners decide to sell to up- or down-grade their living arrangements with gains in equity, and that buyers are accepting that mortgage rates are going to remain in the 6-7 percent range.

Sales of single-family homes are up 5.0 percent to 3.76 million units in November from October and up 7.4 percent from a year ago. Sales of multi-unit homes are up 2.6 percent to 390,000 in November from the prior month and down 4.9 percent year-over-year.

The months' supply of homes for sale is down to 3.8 in November after 4.5 in October, but above 3.5 in November 2023. The median price of an existing home is marginally lower, down 0.2 percent to $406,100 in November from October, but up 4.7 percent from November 2023. The median price typically declines in the second half of the year, but has remained nearly unchanged in the past three months.

A home listed in November is on the market for an average of 32 days, longer than 29 days in October and 25 days in November 2023. The share of first-time buyers purchasing in November is 30 percent, up from 27 percent in October and the historic lows of 26 percent in August and September. The average number of days on the market in November 2023 is 31.

While buyers are taking more time to select a home for purchase and then to close the sale, the market for existing homes has improved along with buyer power to negotiate price and terms.

Sales are expected up slightly from a 3.96 million rate to 4.05 million.

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.