**MNI 5 THINGS: Sept Sales Fall To Lowest Since November 2015

--5 Things We Learned From The Existing Home Sales Data

By Kevin Kastner, Shikha Dave, and Harrison Clarke

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following are the key points from the September

existing home sales data released Friday by the National Association of

Realtors:

     - September existing home sales -3.4% to 5.15M SAAR vs 5.27M expected,

hitting the lowest point since November 2015, while August was revised down

slightly to 5.33M from 5.34m previously reported. NAR acknowledges a small

impact from Hurricane Florence, but said the headline pace would still have

declined in the month to a nearly three-year low without the hurricane.

     - September resales in the South -5.4% partially of Florence, while sales

in West -3.6% on affordability issues and slower foot traffic. Sales were flat

in the Midwest and -2.9% in the Northeast.

     - September home supply -1.6% to 1.880m, but +1.1% year/year, allowing the

months supply to tick up to 4.4 months from 4.3 months in August and 4.2 months

a year ago.

     - NAR's Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said there has been a clear shift in

the markets, with price gains slowing, sales dipping, and inventories moving

higher. 

     - National median sales price +4.2% y/y to $258,100 in September, still a

strong monthly increase, but a slowdown from roughly 7% y/y gains in recent

years.

--MNI Washington Bureau; tel: +1 202-371-2121; email: kevin.kastner@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: MAUDR$,MAUDS$,M$U$$$]