Sales of previously owned homes rose 0.8% during the month of October to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 6.34 million units, CNBC reports. After the largest cyclical increase during the October 2020 market, real estate agents are predicting the highest number of full-year sales since 2006.
Investors made up 17% of total buyers during the month of October, while the percentage of first-time buyers dropped to 29% from 32% in 2020. While home sales rose, the market supply of existing homes continued to weaken on a yearly basis with 12% fewer available homes for sale than in October 2020.
“Sales remain very strong and I would attribute that to continuing job additions,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors.
Yun also pointed to an increase in investors in the market, likely driven by soaring rents for single-family homes. Investors made up 17% of October buyers, up from 13% in September and 14% in October of 2020. All cash buyers represented 24% of buyers. Most investors use all cash.
First-time buyers represented 29% of sales compared with 32% a year ago. Historically that share is around 40%.
Weak supply and strong demand pushed the median price of an existing home to $353,900. That is 13.1% higher compared with October 2020.
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