Washington, D.C. — After a modest decline last month, existing-home sales bounced back in September to their highest annual pace of the year, according to the National Association of Realtors. All major regions except for the Midwest experienced gains in September.
Total existing home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 2.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.17 million in September from 5.05 million in August. Sales are now at their highest pace of 2014, but still remain 1.7% below the 5.26 million-unit level from last September.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the improved demand for buying seen since the spring has carried into the fall. “Low interest rates and price gains holding steady led to September’s healthy increase, even with investor activity remaining on par with last month’s marked decline,” he said. “Traditional buyers are entering a less competitive market with fewer investors searching for available homes, but may also face a slight decline in choices due to the fact that inventory generally falls heading into the winter.”