Sales of existing homes fell in September as house hunters remained on the sidelines despite mortgage rates easing during the month.
Existing home sales slipped 1% from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.84 million, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday, marking the lowest monthly rate since October 2010. Economists polled by Bloomberg expected existing home sales to hit a pace of 3.88 million in September.
On a year-over-year basis, sales of previously owned homes were 3.5% lower in September.
Meanwhile, the median home price rose 3% from last September to $404,500, marking the 15th consecutive month of annual price increases.
“Home sales have been essentially stuck at around a four-million-unit pace for the past 12 months,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement.
Read more: Is this a good time to buy a house?
Potential homebuyers haven’t been convinced to act despite some better news recently.
The Fed, for instance, cut its benchmark rate by half a percentage point in September. While the Fed doesn’t set mortgage rates, its actions influence the direction of mortgage rates.
Mortgage rates hit the lowest level since February 2023 ahead of the Fed decision, while listing inventory picked up.
One explanation: “Some consumers are hesitating about moving forward with a major expenditure like purchasing a home before the upcoming election,” Yun said.
Another reason? High home prices and elevated mortgage rates continue to stand in the way of first-time homebuyers. In September, first-time buyers made up 26% of the sales, marking an all-time low from August and November 2021, per data from the NAR.
Yun forecast that existing home sales for the year could match or come in below last year’s level.
Dani Romero is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @daniromerotv.
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