Investing.com - Although sales of previously-owned U.S. homes unexpectedly increased from a month earlier in November, they remained lower year on year as affordability remained a problem for the American real estate market.
Existing home sales rose by 1.9% in November from the previous month at an annualized pace of 5.32 million units, confounding expectations for a 0.6% decline. But sales were still 7% lower than a year ago.
“The market conditions in November were mixed, with good signs of stabilizing home sales compared to recent months, though down significantly from one year ago,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said.
The median existing-home price for all housing types in November was $257,700, up 4.2% from the same period in 2017 ($247,200). November’s price increase marks the 81st-straight month of year-over-year gains.
“Inventory is plentiful on the upper-end, but a mismatch between supply and demand exists at affordable price points,” Yun said.
“A marked shift is occurring in the West region, with much lower sales and very soft price growth, It is also the West region where consumers have expressed the weakest sentiment about home buying, largely due to lack of affordable housing inventory,” he concluded.