Expected U.S. home sales rise 7% in September from August

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Expected U.S. home sales rise 7% in September from August

Home sales in the U.S. rebounded in September.

Existing home sales rose 7% to a seasonally adjusted 6.29 million units in September from a month earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors NAR The results outpaced analyst expectations of a 3.6% increase, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates.

This autumn looks to be the second best autumn home sales season in 15 years, Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR, said during a press conference releasing the new data.

Yun noted that the surge in activity last year, due to COVID - 19 migration and pent-up demand, was the best autumn season for sales.

Yun also attributed the boost in activity to mortgage rates — which fell back to 2.8% in August after increasing above 3% mid-year — and positive job reports that lifted confidence in the market.

The increase in actual home sales was expected since pending home sales in August, which led to existing sales, was up 8.1%, according to the NAR.

In September, the median existing-home price for all housing types hit $352,800, up 13.3% from a year ago, but slightly down from the previous month and the third straight month of declines. Yun noted that the trend is typical for the season, but also underscored that home price growth is moderating from its 20% - plus increases.

Despite the downward trend, first-time homebuyers represented 28% of all sales last month — the lowest point since July 2015. Price increases are squeezing out the first-time homebuyers, said Yun.

Goldman Sachs economists forecasted a 16% increase in home prices by the end of 2022, citing the shortage of inventory as the main driver behind the price increases.

Total housing inventory at the end of September amounted to 1.27 million units, down 0.8% from August and 13.0% from one year ago 1.46 million unsold inventory sits at a 2.4 - month supply at the present sales pace, down 7.7% from August and down from 2.7 months in September 2020.

Supply side issues have reined housing activity from cycle-highs over the course of 2021, even amid robust demand, said Credit Suisse in a research note prior to the results. Supply problems may continue to dampen housing activity in the near term, but there are early signs that these supply issues could soon normalize. For example, the amount of housing 'authorized but not started' appears to have peaked and may come down in coming months, providing a tailwind to housing starts in the medium term. None Read the latest Bitcoin and cryptocurrency news from Yahoo Finance.