Key Takeaways From the September Existing Home Sales Report

• September existing home sales beat expectations, rising 3.2 percent to 5.47 million units at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR).
• There were sharp divergences between the market for single-family homes which were up 4.1 percent and condo/coop sales which fell 3.2 percent from August.
• Inventory of existing homes on the market increased after contracting for five consecutive months.

September existing home sales beat expectations, increasing 3.2 percent from August and 0.6 percent from a year ago, to 5.47 million units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), according to the National Association of Realtors (figure 1). August home sales were revised downward from 5.33 million units (SAAR) to 5.30 million units, almost doubling the initially reported July-August percentage point decline from -0.9 percent to -1.5 percent.

There was a sharp divergence between single-family home sales and condo/coop sales in September. Sales of single family homes were up 4.1 percent from August and 0.6 percent from a year ago, while condo/coop sales fell 3.2 percent from August and have been flat over the past year. Regionally, the West and the Midwest posted the strongest gains in sales, increasing 5 percent and 3.9 percent from August, respectively. These two regions also lead the country in annual gains in home sales. Compared to a year ago, sales were flat in the Northeast and fell 0.9 percent in the South.

After contracting for five consecutive months, the number of existing homes on the market posted its first month-over-month increase since March, and only the third increase this year. Inventory in September increased 4.3 percent from August, but remains down 7 percent from last year. On an annual basis, existing home inventory has now been contracting for 16 consecutive months. Inventory has fallen much farther among single-family homes, (-7.2 percent year-over-year), than among condos and coops (-1.2 percent from a year ago).

The median seasonally-adjusted price of existing homes sold in September was $234,300, up 1.8 percent from August and 5.5 percent from September 2015. September represented the highest median sale price on record, and just the second month so far (April is the other) in which the median price of existing homes sold surpassed its pre-crash peak of $230,600 reported in October 2005.