Getty Images Prospective buyers look at a room in a home for sale during an open house. According to the National Association of Realtors, TK
The numbers: Existing-home sales ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.15 million in September, the National Association of Realtors said Friday. That was a 3.4% decline for the month, and the lowest pace of sales since November 2015.
What happened: Sales of previously-owned homes stabilized in August after declining for four straight months, so September’s lurch lower was not welcome. Sales were 4.1% lower than year-ago levels. September’s selling pace missed the MarketWatch consensus forecast of a 5.27 million rate.
The median sales price in September was $258,100, which was 4.2% higher than a year earlier. Home prices are still growing faster than wages, but the pace of price increases is decelerating steadily.
That’s likely because inventory is ticking up gradually. At the current pace of sales, it would take 4.4 months to exhaust available supply, up from 4.3 months last month. And it’s taking properties longer to get snatched up: homes stayed on the market for 32 days in September, up from 29 days in August.
Read: Home-price gains decelerate to 11-month low as housing market tries for a soft landing
Big picture: The Realtors blamed another stagnant month in the housing market on rising mortgage rates, higher prices, and the supply stranglehold. But it’s also likely that many would-be buyers are dropping out of a market that’s become too competitive, expensive, and unsatisfying, especially as conditions in the rental market ease up. The national median rent declined compared to a year ago in September, Zillow ZG, -0.25% said Thursday. That was the first yearly decline since 2012, and reflects a glut of supply, with more to come.
What they’re saying: NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun now forecasts that existing-home sales will be 1.6% lower in 2018 than last year. Economists at mortgage financier Fannie Mae are even more bearish: they’re projecting a 2% decline.
Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.71% was little-changed after the release of the report, and has gained about 2.7% for the year to date.
Also see: A VC-backed startup thinks it can take a fresh approach to rent-to-own
