US existing home sales rose for a third straight month in November as buyers rushed to beat impending rate hikes by the Federal Reserve that would make mortgages cost more, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd December, 2021) US existing home sales rose for a third straight month in November as buyers rushed to beat impending rate hikes by the Federal Reserve that would make mortgages cost more, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday.
"Determined buyers were able to land housing before mortgage rates rise further in the coming months," Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the realtors association, said in a news release.
Total existing-home sales comprising completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and cooperatives, grew 1.9% from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.46 million in November. Compared to a year ago, however, sales were down 2% from the November 2020 level of 6.59 million.
Total housing inventory at the end of November amounted to 1.11 million units, down 9.8% from October and 13.3% lower from a year ago. Unsold inventory sits at a 2.1-month supply at the current sales pace, a decline from both the prior month and from a year ago.
The median existing-home price for all housing types in November, meanwhile, was at $353,900 as prices increased in each region. That was up 13.9% from November 2020 when it was at $310,800.
The realtors association noted that it was the 117th month where home prices have increased year-over-year without stop, the longest-running streak on record.
"Locking in a constant and firm mortgage payment motivated many consumers who grew weary of escalating rents over the last year," said Yun, who forecast the 30-year fixed mortgage rate to average at 3.7% by the end of 2022 from a current range of 2.6% to 3.7%.
Dire housing shortages in the United States since the financial crisis of 2007/2008 and last year's coronavirus outbreak have led to a scramble mostly among first-time home buyers.
To compound the problem, the Fed says it expects to raise interest rates by as many as three times next year to curb inflation growing at its fastest pace in four decades.
