U.S. existing-home sales increase more than expected in September

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced on Thursday that the U.S. existing home sales surged 9.4 percent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted rate of 6.54 million in September from a revised 5.98 million in August (originally 6.00 million). That was the highest reading since May 2006.

Economists had forecast home resales increasing to a 6.30 million-unit pace last month.

In y-o-y terms, existing-home sales jumped 20.9 percent in September.

According to the report, each of the four major regions experienced both m-o-m and y-o-y growth. Single-family home sales stood at 5.87 million in September, up 9.7 7 percent m-o-m from 5.35 million in August, and up 21.8 7 percent from one year ago. The median existing single-family home price was $316,200 in September, up 15.2 7 percent from September 2019. Meanwhile, existing condominium and co-op sales were recorded at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 670,000 units in September, up 6.3 percent m-o-m from August and up 13.6 percent from one year ago. The median existing condo price was $272,700 in September, an increase of 9.9 percent from a year ago.

"Home sales traditionally taper off toward the end of the year, but in September they surged beyond what we normally see during this season," noted Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. "I would attribute this jump to record-low interest rates and an abundance of buyers in the marketplace, including buyers of vacation homes given the greater flexibility to work from home."