Existing home sales in the U.S. fell for the second consecutive month in October, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Wednesday.
NAR said existing home sales fell 3.2 percent to an annual rate of 5.12 million units in October after sliding 1.9 percent to an annual rate of 5.29 million units in September. Economists had expected sales to drop to an annual rate of 5.13 million units.
Despite the second straight monthly decrease, existing home sales remain 6.0 percent higher than the 4.83 million-unit level in October of 2012.
"The erosion in buying power is dampening home sales," said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. "Moreover, low inventory is holding back sales while at the same time pushing up home prices in most of the country."
He added, "More new home construction is needed to help relieve the inventory pressure and moderate price gains."
The report said the national median existing-home price was $199,500 in October, up 0.5 percent from $198,500 in September.
Prices are up 12.8 percent compared to the same month a year ago, reflecting the 11th consecutive month of double-digit year-over-year growth.
NAR also said single-family home sales fell 4.1 percent, more than offsetting a 3.3 percent increase in existing condominium and co-op sales.
Housing inventory fell 1.8 percent to 2.13 million existing homes available for sale at the end of October from 2.17 million homes at the end of September.
The inventory level represents 5.0 months of supply at the current sales pace compared to the 4.9 months of supply in the previous month.
NAR said distressed homes accounted for 14 percent of October sales, unchanged from September but down from 25 percent in October of 2012.
Teunis Brosens, Senior Economist at ING Bank, said, "Housing demand may be easing in the face of higher mortgage rates, but it should not collapse."
"In our view the housing market is merely shifting into a lower gear," he added. "We expect to see more easing in sales and construction activity. The low inventory of homes for sale should ease the effect of fewer sales on prices."
Next Monday, NAR is scheduled to release a separate report on pending home sales in the month of October. A pending home sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet closed.
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March 06, 2026 13:56 ET The week saw a drastic escalation of the war in the Middle East that raised concerns over the effect on crude oil prices and global trade. In economic news, survey data threw light on the trends in the U.S. private sector and labor market. Euro area inflation data and house price survey results in the U.K. were the highlights in Europe. In Asia, China setting its growth target for the year attracted attention.