U.S. existing-home sales down 1.7 percent in November

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced on Thursday that the U.S. existing home sales dropped 1.7 percent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.35 million in November from a revised 5.44 million in October (originally 5.46 million).

Economists had forecast home resales decreasing to a 5.44 million-unit pace last month.

In y-o-y terms, existing-home sales rose 2.7 percent in November.

According to the report, single-family home sales stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.79 million in November, down from 4.85 million in October, but up 3.5 percent from a year ago. The median existing single-family home price was $274,000 in November 2019, up 5.4 percent from November 2018. Meanwhile, existing condominium and co-op sales were recorded at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 560,000 units in November, down 5.1 percent from October and 3.4 percent lower than a year ago. The median existing condo price was $248,200 in November, which is an increase of 4.5 percent from a year ago.

The NAR's chief economist Lawrence Yun noted that the decline in sales for November is not a cause for worry. "Sales will be choppy when inventory levels are low, but the economy is otherwise performing very well with more than 2 million job gains in the past year," said Yun.