Kevin Sears President | Official website
Existing-home sales in the United States rose by 1.2% in October, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.10 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Existing-Home Sales Report released on November 20, 2025. The report offers insight into trends for home sales, pricing, and inventory across the country.
Month-over-month data shows that sales increased in the Midwest and South, remained unchanged in the Northeast, and declined in the West. Compared to one year ago, sales were up in the Northeast, Midwest, and South but down in the West.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun commented on market conditions: "Home sales increased in October even with the government shutdown due to homebuyers taking advantage of lower mortgage rates." He added that first-time buyers faced challenges from limited supply in the Northeast and high prices in the West but had better opportunities in regions like the Midwest and South where more affordable or sufficient inventory was available.
Yun also addressed rental trends and their potential impact: "Rents are decelerating which will reduce inflation and encourage the Federal Reserve to continue cutting rates and pulling back their quantitative tightening. This will help bring more homebuyers into the market since the Fed rate has an indirect impact on mortgage rates."
Nationally, total housing inventory at the end of October stood at 1.52 million units—a decrease of 0.7% from September but a rise of nearly 11% compared to October last year. The unsold inventory represented a 4.4-month supply at the current pace of sales.
The median existing-home price for all housing types reached $415,200 last month—an increase of 2.1% over October 2024—and marked almost two-and-a-half years of consecutive annual price gains.
Single-family homes saw a slight increase of 0.8% from September to an annual rate of 3.71 million units sold; this figure is up nearly 2% year-over-year with a median price now at $420,600. Condominium and co-op transactions rose by 5.4%, maintaining an annual rate similar to last year’s level; their median price grew just under one percent to $363,700.
Regionally, there were notable differences:
- In the Northeast, sales held steady month-to-month but were up by over four percent compared to last year; median prices climbed by more than six percent.
- The Midwest experienced a significant monthly jump—over five percent—in sales volume along with nearly five percent higher prices.
- Southern states saw modest increases both monthly (0.5%) and annually (2.8%), while prices edged up slightly.
- In contrast, Western states recorded declines: a drop of over one percent month-to-month and nearly three percent from last year’s levels; however, median prices remained relatively flat.
Additional indicators showed properties spent a median of 34 days on market (up from both last month and last year), with first-time buyers accounting for about one-third of all purchases—higher than earlier months or previous years’ shares. Cash deals made up just under thirty percent of transactions while investor activity hovered around sixteen percent.
Distressed property sales continued to be minimal at two percent—unchanged from previous periods.
The average interest rate for a conventional fixed-rate mortgage fell slightly to 6.25% during October as reported by Freddie Mac.
For those seeking further information or local data breakdowns beyond national trends provided by NAR’s report series—including distinctions between existing-home sale figures versus new construction tracked separately by federal agencies—the association recommends contacting local Realtor groups who utilize multiple listing services (MLS).
The next Pending Home Sales Index update is scheduled for release on November 25th; updated Existing-Home Sales numbers for November will follow on December 19th.
