10/21/2026
U.S. existing-home sales fell 2.0% from the previous month and 1.2% from a year earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.98 million, the first reading below 4 million since June 2025, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Sales held steady in the West and declined in the Northeast, Midwest, and South. Compared with a year earlier, sales were unchanged in the South and declined in the Northeast, Midwest, and West.
Heading into September, there were 1.62 million homes listed for sale, up 3.2% from the previous month and 5.9% from a year earlier, the first time inventory has exceeded 1.6 million units since November 2019, NAR reported. That represents a 4.9-month supply at the current sales pace, up from 4.6 months a month earlier and the highest level in over ten years, according to NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. The median existing-home sales price rose 1.6% year-over-year to $429,100, marking 38 consecutive months of annual gains, and year-to-date sales are up 1.6%. The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate by a quarter point on September 16 to a range of 3.75% to 4%, its first increase since July 2023, and the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage moved above 7% in late September, up from an August average of 6.67%, according to Freddie Mac.
