Existing-home sales increased 4.1 percent year over year in September, reflecting homebuyers’ growing appetite for transacting amid lowering mortgage rates, the National Association of Realtors reported on Thursday.
Existing-home sales rose 1.5 percent month over month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.06 million in September, the best showing in seven months, NAR said.
Lawrence Yun | Chief economist at the National Association of Realtors
“As anticipated, falling mortgage rates are lifting home sales,” NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “Improving housing affordability is also contributing to the increase in sales.”
Meanwhile, the median existing-home sales price rose 2.1 percent on an annual basis to $415,000. But during a press call on Thursday, Yun said that there is typically a seasonal pattern heading into autumn and winter months where the median sales price tends to decline.
“The medium price in autumn and winter months seems to be lower compared to the summer months,” Yun said. “It happens every year.” Yun also noted that the median sales price has increased by 53 percent since September 2019.
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Unsold inventory matched a five-year high, with a 1.3 percent increase from the previous month to 1.55 million units, or about 4.6 months’ supply. That figure is still below pre-COVID levels, however, NAR reported.
By property type, single-family homes saw the greatest movement in September, with a 1.7 percent increase from August 2025 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.69 million. That figure was also up 4.5 percent from September 2024.
Existing-condo and co-op home sales stayed at the same rate from the previous month and from one year ago to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 370,000 units.
The median sales price on single-family homes was $420,700 in September, up 2.3 percent year over year. For condo properties, the median sales price was down 0.6 percent year over year to $360,300.
By region, the South saw the greatest annual gains in existing-home sales, which were up 6.9 percent year over year and 1.6 percent month over month to an annual rate of 1.86 million.
The Northeast also saw a significant 4.3 percent annual gain in home sales, and a 2.1 percent increase month over month to an annual rate of 490,000.
Notably, the Midwest, which has been fairly resilient in recent months when it comes to existing-home sales, saw a 2.1 percent decrease in sales on a monthly basis to an annual rate of 940,000, which was still up 2.2 percent year over year.
Homes spent a bit more time on market at a median of 33 days, up from 31 days in August, and up from 28 days in September 2024. First-time homebuyers made up 30 percent of sales, up from 28 percent in July and up from 26 percent the previous year. All-cash sales made up 30 percent of transactions, equal to their share in September 2024 and up from 28 percent in August.
With the ongoing government shutdown, Yun said, there have been anecdotal reports from DC-area Realtors that some clients are moving to list their properties on the market, but NAR could not give concrete figures on how many clients in the area are doing so now. Those sales, however, will not be considered “distressed,” as they will be spurred by loss of work.
