US October existing home sales 3.75m vs 3.85m expected

Prior was 3.99m (revised to 3.97m)Sales -5.5% vs +1.5% prior (revised to +1.0%)Inventory at 5.1 monthsMedian price $416,700, up 0.4% y/yThe US housing market is in a deep slump and there is no help coming from the Fed.

At some point it will turn but we're not there yet.For background, the National Association of Realtors publishes its existing home sales report monthly at 10 am ET, usually in the third or fourth week of the following month.

Existing homes make up roughly 90% of US home sales, so the report is the broadest monthly read on housing market activity.The headline figure is the seasonally adjusted annualized rate of sales, covering single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops.

Because the data count closed transactions, they reflect contracts signed one to two months earlier.

NAR’s pending home sales index, released later each month, tracks contract signings and gives an earlier signal of where closings are headed.The report also includes the median existing-home price, which isn’t seasonally adjusted and is usually compared with the same month a year earlier.

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