Existing Home Sales Slightly Lower, Inventories Fall Again

- Existing Home Sales for September fell to 6.18M versus estimates of 6.23M and 6.3M in August.

BOTTOM LINE: Sales of previously owned homes in the US fell last month, Bloomberg reported. The median sales price of an existing home fell 2.2% from a year earlier to $220,000. The number of homes for sale fell 2.4% from the prior month and inventories are at 7.3 months’ supply. Purchases fell 3.7% in the Northeast, 3.1% in the West and 2.8% in the Midwest. Sales rose .4% in the South. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.41% in September, compared with 6.55% a month earlier, according to Freddie Mac. The fact that inventories fell for a second month is a big positive. I continue to believe that housing is in the process of stabilizing at relatively high levels. The median existing US home price is still 61% higher since 2000.