Existing-Home Sales Decreased 5.5% in October, According to NAR Report

Month-Over-Month

• Existing-home sales decreased 5.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.75 million in October.
• Unsold inventory increased 1.3% to 1.59 million units, equal to a 5.1-month supply.

Year-Over-Year

• Existing-home sales decreased 8.8%.
• The median existing-home sales price increased 0.4% to $416,700.

WASHINGTON (November 12, 2026) - Existing-home sales decreased by 5.5% month-over-month and decreased by 8.8% year-over-year, according to the National Association of REALTORS® Existing-Home Sales report. The report provides the real estate ecosystem, including agents, homebuyers and sellers, with data on the level of home sales, price and inventory.

Month-over-month sales declined in the Midwest, South and West and held steady in the Northeast. Year-over-year sales declined in all four regions.

"Home buying is difficult when mortgage rates have climbed to their highest levels since 2000, aside from a single month in 2023. As a result, home sales fell to their lowest level since August 2010," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

"Despite fewer transactions in October, the 88 million homeowners across the country are largely in a comfortable financial position due to sizable housing wealth accumulation. The number of distressed property sales remains historically low at only 2% of all transactions," Yun said. "Based on the current underwhelming home sales pace at a time of consistent job growth, there could be sizable pent-up demand if mortgage rates decline."

National Snapshot

Total Existing-Home Sales for October

• Existing-home sales decreased 5.5% month-over-month.¹
• Existing-home sales decreased 8.8% year-over-year to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.75 million.

Inventory in October

• Total housing inventory was 1.59 million units, up 1.3% from September and 4.6% from October 2025.²
• Unsold inventory represented a 5.1-month supply, up from 4.7 months in September and 4.4 months in October 2025.

Median Sales Price in October

• The median existing-home price for all housing types was $416,700.³
• The median price increased 0.4% from $414,900 one year ago, marking the 40th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.

Housing Affordability in October

• The Housing Affordability Index registered at 100.7, down from 107.3 one year ago.
• Year-over-year, affordability declined in all four regions.
• Northeast: down 8.7%
• Midwest: down 7.2%
• South: down 5.4%
• West: down 5.2%

Single-Family and Condo/Co-op Sales

Single-Family Homes in October

• Sales decreased 5.8% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.41 million and were down 8.6% from October 2025.
• The median home price was $421,900, up 0.4% from one year ago.

Condominiums and Co-ops in October

• Sales decreased 2.9% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 340,000.
• Sales were down 10.5% from one year ago.
• The median price was $365,100, up 0.3% from October 2025.

Regional Snapshot for Existing-Home Sales in October

Northeast

• Sales were unchanged month-over-month at an annual rate of 470,000.
• Sales were down 4.1% from October 2025.
• The median price was $519,600, up 3.2% from October 2025.

Midwest

• Sales decreased 3.2% month-over-month to an annual rate of 900,000.
• Sales were down 8.2% year-over-year.
• The median price was $324,300, up 1.5% from October 2025.

South

• Sales decreased 6.5% month-over-month to an annual rate of 1.73 million.
• Sales were down 8% from October 2025.
• The median price was $360,900, down 0.4% from October 2025.

West

• Sales decreased 9.7% month-over-month to an annual rate of 650,000.
• Sales were down 14.5% year-over-year.
• The median price was $624,300, unchanged from October 2025.

REALTORS® Confidence Index for October

• The median time on market was 35 days, up from 33 days in September and 34 days in October 2025.
• First-time homebuyers accounted for 29% of sales, down from 31% in September and 32% in October 2025.
• Cash sales accounted for 29% of transactions, up from 27% in September and unchanged from October 2025.
• Individual investors and second-home buyers accounted for 20% of transactions, unchanged from September and up from 16% in October 2025.
• Distressed sales accounted for 2% of sales, unchanged from September and October 2025.⁴

Mortgage Rates

• The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 7.33% in October, according to Freddie Mac, up from 6.86% in September and 6.25% one year ago.

About the National Association of REALTORS®

The National Association of REALTORS® is involved in all aspects of residential and commercial real estate. The term REALTOR® is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. For free consumer guides about navigating the homebuying and selling transaction processes, from written buyer agreements to negotiating compensation, visit The Facts.

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Information about NAR is available at nar.realtor. This and other news releases are posted in the newsroom at nar.realtor/newsroom. Statistical data in this release, as well as other tables and surveys, are posted under Research and Statistics.

Methodology and Definitions

¹ Existing-home sales, which include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, are based on transaction closings from Multiple Listing Services. Changes in sales trends outside of MLSs are not captured in the monthly series. NAR periodically benchmarks home sales using other sources to assess overall home sales trends, including sales not reported by MLSs.
Existing-home sales, based on closings, differ from the U.S. Census Bureau's series on new single-family home sales, which is based on contracts or the acceptance of a deposit. Because of these differences, it is not uncommon for each series to move in different directions during the same month.
Existing-home sales account for more than 90% of total home sales and are based on a much larger data sample, approximately 40% of multiple listing service data each month. The figures typically are not subject to large prior-month revisions.
The annual rate for a particular month represents the total number of sales that would occur during a year if that month's relative sales pace continued for 12 consecutive months. Seasonally adjusted annual rates account for typical seasonal variations in resale activity. Seasonal factors cannot account for abnormal weather patterns.
Single-family data collection began monthly in 1968, while condominium data collection began quarterly in 1981. The series were combined in 1999 when monthly condominium data collection began. Historic comparisons for total home sales before 1999 are based on monthly single-family sales combined with the corresponding quarterly sales rate for condominiums.

² Total inventory and months' supply data are available beginning in 1999. Single-family inventory and months' supply data are available beginning in 1982. Before 1999, single-family sales accounted for more than 90% of transactions, and condominiums were measured only quarterly.

³ The median price is the point at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less. Median prices generally are more representative of market conditions than average prices, which can be influenced by a relatively small share of higher-priced transactions.
Median prices should be compared with the same period one year earlier because month-to-month comparisons do not account for seasonal buying patterns. Changes in the composition of sales can also affect median price data. Year-ago median and mean prices may be revised when additional data becomes available.
The national median condominium and co-op price is often higher than the median single-family home price because condominiums are concentrated in higher-cost housing markets. Within a given market, single-family homes typically sell for more than condominiums.

⁴ Distressed sales include foreclosures and short sales. Distressed sales, days on market, first-time buyers, all-cash transactions and investor activity are measured through NAR's monthly REALTORS® Confidence Index, available at nar.realtor.