Sales of Existing Homes Jump to Their Highest Level Since March in Pre-Holiday Surge

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 on Thursday. The November sales figure, which excludes new construction, represented a 6.1% jump 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 after dipping to a two-year low of 6.18% in September, according to Freddie Mac.

“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.”

Prospective homebuyers have also benefited from a number of buyer-friendly trends that have emerged in recent months, such as a rising supply of homes on the market and an increase in listings with price reductions.

“Homes with November closings generally went under contract in September and October, when shoppers benefited from an uptick in newly listed for-sale homes,” says Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale. “Increased buying power, as mortgage rates declined to a two-year low in September, brought shoppers to the market, and the late September surge in rates created a sense of urgency that likely contributed to the uptick.”

Sales grow in most regions as inventory remains strong

The supply of houses on the market ticked down in November, following typical seasonal trends, but remained much higher than levels seen a year earlier.

Total housing inventory stood at 1.33 million units at the end of November, down 2.9% from October but up 17.7% from one year ago. It represented a 3.8-month supply at the current sales pace, down from 4.2 months in October but up from 3.5 months in November 2023.

The number of closed sales of existing homes grew monthly in every region except the West, where they were unchanged from October at an annual rate of 770,000, up 14.9% from a year ago. The median price in the West was $628,200, up 4% from a year earlier.

In the Northeast, existing-home sales rose 8.5% from October, to an annual rate of 510,000, up 6.3% from last year. The median price in the Northeast was $475,500, up 9.9% from last year.

Existing-home sales in the South climbed 5.6% on the month, to 1.87 million annualized in November, up 3.3% from one year before. The median price in the South was $361,300, up 2.8% from one year earlier.

In the Midwest, existing-home sales grew 5.3% in November, to an annual rate of 1 million, up 5.3% from the previous year. The median price in the Midwest was $302,000, up 7.3% from November 2023.

Despite the uptick in sales for November, the country is on pace for a weaker year of home sales than in 2023, when just 4.09 million existing homes were sold, the lowest level since 1995.

“It has been a difficult market for would-be homebuyers. Some of the obstacles in the market will ease somewhat in 2025 as listing activity increases and mortgage rates come down slightly,” says Bright MLS Chief Economist Lisa Sturtevant.

“Pent-up demand that has been building over the past two years will be unleashed, and 2025 sales should outpace 2024,” she adds. “Buyers should still expect to encounter a competitive market in the year ahead.”