U.S. Existing Home Sales Decline in November; Availability Shrinks to Record Low

• Existing home sales reverse some of October's increase.

• Inventory of unsold homes falls sharply.

• Sales weaken broadly across regions.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that sales of existing homes fell 2.5% (+25.8% y/y) during November to 6.690 million (AR) from 6.860 in October, revised from 6.850 million. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected October sales of 6.70 million. Data are compiled when existing home sales close.

The number of homes on the market declined 22.0% y/y. The months' supply of homes on the market fell to 2.3, a record low, down from 4.8 months in May.

Sales declined in most of the country. In the Northeast, sales eased 2.2% (+25.7% y/y) to 880,000 units after double-digit increases in each of the prior four months. Sales in the Midwest fell 2.5% (+24.2% y/y) to 1.590 million after rising to a record 1.630 million in October. In the South, sales fell 3.8% (+25.9% y/y) to 2.820 million from the record 2.930 million in October. In the West, sales held steady at 1.400 million (27.3% y/y) after a 1.4% October rise.

The median price of an existing home eased 0.7% (+14.6% y/y) to $310,800. The mean sales price slipped 0.5% last month (+11.3% y/y) to $343,000. The median home price in the Northeast weakened 0.7% (+17.4% y/y) to $354,100. In the Midwest, prices slipped 0.8% (+14.6% y/y) to $239,100. The median home price in the South slipped 0.6% (+15.0% y/y) to $270,000 while prices in the West were off 0.7% (+13.8% y/y) to $467,600. The price data are not seasonally adjusted.

Sales of existing single-family homes declined 2.4% (+25.6% y/y) to 5.98 million units after increasing for five consecutive months. Sales of condos and co-ops fell 2.7% (+26.9% y/y) to 710,000 units. It also followed five straight months of strong gains and left sales at the highest level since February 2007.

The data on existing home sales, prices and affordability are compiled by the National Association of Realtors. The data trace back to February 1968. Total sales and price data and regional sales can be found in Haver's USECON database. Regional price and affordability data and national inventory data are available in the REALTOR database. The expectations figure is from the Action Economics Forecast Survey, reported in the AS1REPNA database.