The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales were down 1.5% in September to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.71 million (down 23.8% year over year).  Total housing inventory at the end of September was 1,250,000 units, down 2.3% from August and down 0.8% from one year ago.  Unsold inventory sits at a 3.2-month supply at the current sales rate with properties remaining on the market for around 19 days.  The median existing-home price for all housing types in July was $384,800, up 8.4% from one year ago.

“The housing sector continues to undergo an adjustment due to the continuous rise in interest rates, which eclipsed 6% for 30-year fixed mortgages in September and are now approaching 7%…Expensive regions of the country are especially feeling the pinch and seeing larger declines in sales.”  Said the NAR’s Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun.

This article was republished from Real Estate Investing Today, a weekly flow of news from the National REIA.