November US Existing Home Sales Rises Less Than Expected, Inventory Contracting

10:00 AM EST, 12/19/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The pace of US existing home sales rose 0.5% to a 4.13 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in November from 4.11 million in October, compared with a larger expected increase to a 4.15 million rate in a survey compiled by Bloomberg, data from the National Association of Realtors released Friday showed.

"Existing-home sales increased for the third straight month due to lower mortgage rates this autumn," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "However, inventory growth is beginning to stall. With distressed property sales at historic lows and housing wealth at an all-time high, homeowners are in no rush to list their properties during the winter months."

Total sales were still down 1% from a year earlier.

Sales of single-family homes were up 0.8%, while condominium sales fell by 2.6%.

Overall sales were up in the Northeast and South regions in November, down in the Midwest region and unchanged in the West region. Compared with a year earlier, sales fell in the Midwest and West regions and were unchanged in the Northeast and South regions.

Homes remained on the market an average of 36 days, up from 34 days in October and 32 days a year ago.

The supply of homes for sale fell to 1.43 million homes in November from 1.52 million in October but were up 7.5% from the 1.33 million level a year ago.

The month supply on market fell to 4.2 months from 4.4 months in October but was well above the 3.8 months supply a year ago.

The median home price fell to $409,200 from $414,900 in October but was up 1.2% from one year ago, when it was $404,400. The current month's median price is the highest on record for the month of November.

"Wage growth is outpacing home price gains, which improves housing affordability," Yun said. "Still, future affordability could be hampered if housing supply fails to keep pace with demand."

The monthly existing home sales report from the National Association of Realtors measures sales of single-family and multi-family homes for resale at the time of closing, including the number of existing homes available and the median sales price. A strong reading is a positive sign for mortgage lenders and related consumer product companies.

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