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MNI DATA IMPACT: US September Home Sales Strongest Since 2006

MNI (Washington)
WASHINGTON (MNI)

Sales of U.S. existing homes surged in September, rising 9.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.54 million to record the quickest pace in more than a decade despite tightening inventories and record-breaking price gains, according to data released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors.

A "spectacular" month of September saw the housing market overtaking even pre-pandemic sales activity and posting the strongest monthly growth since May 2006, NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun told reporters Thursday. From a year earlier, sales were up 20.9%.

That's "much better than a V-shaped recovery," Yun said. He added that sales are expected to remain strong through the rest of the year, with a 20% jump in buyer foot traffic in September foreshadowing a strong autumn and winter buying season."It's not only about current momentum," he said. "Future momentum also appears to be very strong."
Sales saw significant growth in all four major geographic regions in September, up 16.2% in the Northeast, up 9.6% in the West, up 8.5% South, and up 7.1% Midwest. Sales in each region were up roughly 20% from one year ago. August existing home sales were revised down slightly to 5.98 million.
The national median home price grew to a new all-time high of USD311,800, nearly 15% higher than a year earlier.

LUXURY SELLS

Higher home prices in the fall compared to the more popular summer months is "highly unusual," Yun said, attributing the increase to more purchases of homes on the upper end of the price scale as home buyers seek pandemic-related amenities like in-home office space.
"There's a very strange condition in 2020 where people are really going after luxury homes," Yun said. "Demand at the upper end is quite spectacular."
Sales of homes priced at USD1 million or above rose 106% year-over-year in September, Yun said. Elevated demand for larger, more expensive homes isn't likely to slow anytime soon as work-from-home flexibility allows many Americans to work from almost anywhere in the country, with wealthier buyers eying vacation homes at an increasing rate.
Yun said September sales represented a "gold rush" for people that are financially secure enough to buy a home, and most sales last month were from "repeat buyers," or current homeowners. Sales from investors and first-time buyers sank in September.
Inventories of homes across nearly all price categories continue to shrink, Yun said, potentially threatening future homeownership rates as many would-be buyers are priced out of the market.
"We need to ensure home prices are rising in a more moderate way," he said. "Get supply to the market to moderate the price growth."
At the current sales pace, it would take 2.7 months to exhaust the inventory of existing homes, the lowest months supply in records dating back to 1982.
MNI Washington Bureau | +1 202-371-2121 | brooke.migdon@marketnews.com
USDataHomepageData BriefData StoriesStoryRegionNorth America
MNI Washington Bureau | +1 202-371-2121 | brooke.migdon@marketnews.com
USDataHomepageData BriefData StoriesStoryRegionNorth America

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