Housing News

Homebuyers Continued to Snap Up Existing Homes, Boosting Sales

Homebuyers jumped back into the market in November, purchasing the most existing homes since March.

Sales of existing homes jumped 4.8% from October to November to an annual rate of 4.15 million transactions, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors. That represents a 6.1% year-over-year increase in November.

(Existing homes are those that have previously been lived in and exclude new construction.)

“Home sales momentum is building,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun in a statement. “More buyers have entered the market as the economy continues to add jobs, housing inventory grows compared to a year ago, and consumers get used to a new normal of mortgage rates between 6% and 7%.”

November had the largest annual bump in sales since June 2021, despite rising home prices and elevated mortgage rates. First-time buyers made up almost a third of sales, 30%.

Median home sale prices rose 4.7% year-over-year in November to $406,100. This was the 17^th month in a row that home prices went up.

Homes cost about 50% more than they did just five years ago, according to Bright MLS. 

“Historically, there is a drop-off in the number of closed sales between October and November,” said Bright MLS Chief Economist Lisa Sturtevant. The multiple listing service covers the mid-Atlantic region. “But this year, buyers jumped on mortgage rates that dipped in early October, bringing more contracts which closed in November.”

Meanwhile, mortgage rates averaged 6.81% for 30-year, fixed-rate loans in November, according to an average of the Freddie Mac’s weekly rates from Nov. 1 through Nov. 27.

In addition, the number of homes going onto the market slid 2.9% from October to November. However, listings were 17.7% higher compared to November of last year.

And buyers have a little bit more time to make a decision. Homes sat on the market for 32 days in November. That’s an increase from 29 days in October and 25 days in November of last year.

“It has been a difficult market for would-be home buyers,” said Sturtevant. “Some of the obstacles in the market will ease somewhat in 2025 as listing activity increases and mortgage rates come down slightly.”