After a brief rebound last month, existing home sales plummeted to a 16-year low in October. With mortgage rates back above 7% since mid-September and home prices still elevated, buyers continued to stay on the sidelines. Sales declined across all four regions, with the West hitting a record low while the Midwest and South fell to decade lows. As buyers wait for rate relief, homes are sitting on the market longer, resulting in for-sale inventory climbing close to pre-pandemic levels.
Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops, fell 5.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.75 million in October, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). This marked the lowest level since August 2010. On a year-over-year basis, sales were 8.8% lower than a year ago.
The existing home inventory level was 1.59 million units in October, up 1.3% from September and 4.6% from a year ago. At the current sales rate, October unsold inventory sits at a 5.1-months’ supply, up from 4.7-months in September and 4.4-months a year ago. This was the highest months’ supply since November 2015. Inventory between 4.5 to 6 months’ supply is generally considered a balanced market.
Homes stayed on the market for a median of 35 days in October, up from 33 days in the previous month and 34 days in October 2025.
The first-time buyer share was 29% in October. The share was down from 31% in September and 32% from a year ago.
The October all-cash sales share was 29% of transactions, up from 27% last month but unchanged from October 2025. All-cash buyers are less affected by changes in interest rates.
The October median sales price of all existing homes was $416,700, up 0.4% from last year. This marks the 40th consecutive month of year-over-year increases. The median condominium/co-op price in October was up 0.3% from a year ago at $365,100. Recent gains for home inventory will put downward pressure on resale home prices in most markets in 2026.
Existing home sales in October were mixed across the four major regions. Sales fell in the West (-9.7%), South (-6.5%) and Midwest (-3.2%), while unchanged the Northeast. On a year-over-year basis, sales decreased in all four regions, ranging from 4.1% in the Northeast to 14.5% in the West.
The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) is a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts. The PHSI fell from 71.2 to 66.0 in September, the lowest level since NAR began tracking in 2001. On a year-over-year basis, pending sales were 11.3% lower than a year ago according to the National Association of Realtors’ data.
