US home sales dip for tenth straight month in 'frozen' market

(Alliance News). - The US saw a drop in sales of existing homes for the 10th consecutive month in November. This was in spite of record mortgage rates and tight inventory, according to data from the industry. After the central bank increased the benchmark lending rate multiple time this year, the US real estate sector, which is highly interest-sensitive, has been in turmoil. This was to reduce soaring inflation and cool down the world's largest economy. According to the National Association of Realtors' (NAR), sales of all types of condos and homes fell 7.7% in October compared with October. According to the association, this resulted in November's annual sales pace of 4.1million, seasonally adjusted. This is 35.4% less than a year ago. "This is similar to the sales activity during the Covid-19 economic lockdowns of 2020," stated Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at NAR. He stated that the main reason was a rapid rise in mortgage rates. This affected affordability and decreased homeowner incentives to sell their homes. Yun also stated that the available housing stock "remains close to historic lows." Yun stated that mortgage rates have fallen for five consecutive weeks, which suggests the market is warming. All four regions of the country saw declines in their sales. 90% of US's real estate market is made up by existing home sales. All Rights Reserved