Existing Home Sales Resume Gains, Realtors Say More to Come; Refi Share Highest in 4 Years

Existing Home Sales Resume Gains, Realtors Say More to Come; Refi Share Highest in 4 Years

Existing-home sales got back on track in October, partially recovering from a 2.2 percent slip in September that ended a two-month winning streak. The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said previously owned single-family houses, townhouses, condos, and cooperative apartments sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.46 million during the month, a 1.9 percent increase from September. This put sales 3.6 percent higher than the 5.22 million rate of sales in October 2018. Sales of single-family homes were at a rate of 4.87 million in October compared to 4.77 million the previous month, a gain of 2.1 percent. Sales were 5.4 percent higher than a year earlier. Condo and co-op sales were largely unchanged from the prior month and were 1.7 percent lower than in October 2018 at 590,000