Previously Owned Home Sales Rise in October
Housing buyers purchased more previously owned homes in October than last month. The National Association of Realtors reported Monday that sales of existing homes rose 1.4% from September.
In a year over year comparison, the rate of existing home sales has jumped 13.5%. The total housing inventory at the end of October was lowered by 2.2% to 3.3 million existing homes for sale. The trend for available homes for sale is heading lower.
The number of foreclosures and short sales have dropped to only 28% of total sales of homes in October. That is down from the 30% of total sales of homes in September.
The current trend of housing prices is also on a downward spiral as the median price for an existing home was $162,500 in October. That is 4.7% lower than a year ago.
The National Association of Realtors repeats its mantra that it's still a great opportunity to buy, but in reality it's likely a better opportunity to buy next year. The major problem with the housing market is that people buying homes are having their mortgage applications rejected, according to National Association of Realtors chief economist Lawrence Yun.
The contracts between buyers and sellers of homes are failing to pass muster because appraisals are below the negotiated price. This is occurring in 33% of the mortgage applications, almost double the rate in September at 18%. Apparently, someone in the know believes that housing prices are still headed lower in the future.
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