Existing-Home Sales Rise for Third Consecutive Month in November as Mortgage Rates Fall

12:39 PM EST, 12/19/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Existing home sales in the US rose for a third consecutive month in November amid lower mortgage rates, data from the National Association of Realtors showed Friday.

Sales increased 0.5% sequentially to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.13 million units last month. The consensus was for a 1.2% gain in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

"Existing-home sales increased for the third straight month due to lower mortgage rates this autumn," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said.

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage ticked down to 6.24% in November from 6.25% the month prior, the NAR said, citing Freddie Mac data. The median sales price of existing homes rose 1.2% year over year to $409,200 last month, marking the 29th straight month of annual gains, according to the report.

"However, inventory growth is beginning to stall," Yun said. "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."

Single-family home sales increased 0.8% month over month to 3.75 million units in November, while condominium and co-op sales fell 2.6% to 380,000 units, NAR data showed.

"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."

Earlier this month, Realtor said affordability in the US housing market is expected to improve next year amid lower mortgage rates and muted price growth.

"We expect sales to improve further as we move into 2026 as mortgage rates edge lower and the economy and labor market get on firmer footing," Oxford Economics Lead US Economist Nancy Vanden Houten said Friday in remarks e-mailed to MT Newswires.

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