As expected, existing home sales were up year-over-year for the first time since 2021. This was a combination of weak sales in October last year and lower mortgage rates in August and September when contracts were signed (Existing home sales are reported at closing). … The sales rate was above the consensus forecast (but at housing economist Tom Lawler’s estimate). … Sales Year-over-Year and Not Seasonally Adjusted (NSA)
The fourth graph shows existing home sales by month for 2023 and 2024.
Sales increased 2.9% year-over-year compared to October 2023. This was the first year-over-year increase since July 2021.