US existing home sales fall 1%, again at lowest since August 2010

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US existing home sales fell 1% in December 2023, diving again to their lowest level since August 2010, according to data released Friday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Existing home sales, which measures the change in the number of existing residential buildings sold, fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.78 million last month.

The revised November figure stood at 3.82 million for a monthly gain of 0.8%.

In October 2023, existing home sales were down 4.1%, compared to the previous month, at 3.79 million -- lowest since August 2010.

On an annual basis, sales were down to 4.09 million, marking the lowest level since 1995, while the median sales price reached a record high of $389,800 in 2023, according to NAR.

"The latest month's sales look to be the bottom before inevitably turning higher in the new year," NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. "Mortgage rates are meaningfully lower compared to just two months ago, and more inventory is expected to appear on the market in upcoming months."

The median existing-home sales price was $382,600 in December 2023 -- an increase of 4.4% from December 2022 when it stood at $366,500.