Existing-home sales in U.S. decline for 10th consecutive month in November

Photo taken on Oct. 19, 2022 shows a house for sale in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

The study showed that total existing-home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, waned 7.7 percent from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million in November, and 35.4 percent from the previous year.

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- Existing-home sales declined for the tenth month in a row in November, according to a study released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and California saw some of the largest declines in the nation.

The study showed that total existing-home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, waned 7.7 percent from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million in November, and 35.4 percent from the previous year.

The median existing-home price for all housing types in November was 370,700 U.S. dollars, an increase of 3.5 percent from November 2021 (358,200 U.S. dollars), as prices rose in all regions. This marked 129 consecutive months of year-over-year increases, the longest-running streak on record.

Even though all four major U.S. regions recorded month-over-month and year-over-year declines of existing-home sales, the West region experienced the largest decline in home sales and the smallest increase in home prices compared to the other regions.

Sales in the West region fell 12.5 percent in November and were down 45.7 percent from a year ago. In California, the most populous state of the country, existing-home sales totaled 237,740 in November, down 13.2 percent from October and 47.7 percent from a year ago, according to the California Association of Realtors.

"In essence, the residential real estate market was frozen in November, resembling the sales activity seen during the COVID-19 economic lockdowns in 2020," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun in the study.

"The principal factor was the rapid increase in mortgage rates, which hurt housing affordability and reduced incentives for homeowners to list their homes. Plus, available housing inventory remains near historic lows," the study read.