By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) - US existing home sales fell in November for the 10th consecutive month, while the median sales price continued to increase, according to National Association of Realtors (NAR) data released Wednesday.
Existing home sales, which measure the change in the number of existing residential buildings sold, plummeted 7.7% from October to 4.09 million in November.
Annually, sales plummeted 35.4%, compared to November 2021 when they stood at 6.33 million.
"In essence, the residential real estate market was frozen in November, resembling the sales activity seen during the COVID-19 economic lockdowns in 2020," NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement.
"The principal factor was the rapid increase in mortgage rates, which hurt housing affordability and reduced incentives for homeowners to list their homes. Plus, available housing inventory remains near historic lows," he added.
The median existing-home sales price rose to $370,700, an increase of 3.5% from the same month last year when it stood at $358,200, according to NAR.