Washington, D.C., Nov. 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Existing-home sales increased by 1.2% in October, according to the National Association of REALTORS^® Existing-Home Sales Report. The Report provides the real estate ecosystem, including agents and homebuyers and sellers, with data on the level of home sales, price, and inventory.

Month-over-month sales increased in the Midwest and South, showed no change in the Northeast, and fell in the West. Year-over-year sales rose in the Northeast, Midwest and South, and decreased in the West.

“Home sales increased in October even with the government shutdown due to homebuyers taking advantage of lower mortgage rates,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “First-time homebuyers are facing headwinds in the Northeast due to a lack of supply and in the West because of high home prices. First-time buyers fared better in the Midwest because of the plentiful supply of affordable houses and in the South because there is sufficient inventory.”

“Rents are decelerating which will reduce inflation and encourage the Federal Reserve to continue cutting rates and pulling back their quantitative tightening,” Yun added. “This will help bring more homebuyers into the market since the Fed rate has an indirect impact on mortgage rates.”

National Snapshot

Total Existing-Home Sales for October

• 1.2% increase in existing-home sales[1] month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.10 million.
• 1.7% increase in sales year-over-year.

Inventory in October

• 1.52 million units: Total housing inventory[2], down 0.7% from September and up 10.9% from October 2024 (1.37 million).
• 4.4-month supply of unsold inventory, down from 4.5 months in September and up from 4.1 months in October 2024.

Median Sales Price in October

• $415,200: Median existing-home price[3] for all housing types, up 2.1% from one year ago ($406,800) – the 28^th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.

Single-Family and Condo/Co-op Sales

Single-Family Homes in October

• 0.8% increase in sales to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.71 million, up 1.9% from October 2024.
• $420,600: Median home price in October, up 2.2% from last year.

Condominiums and Co-ops in October

• 5.4% increase in sales to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 390,000, unchanged from October 2024.
• $363,700: Median price, up 0.9% from October 2024.

Regional Snapshot for Existing-Home Sales in October

Northeast

• No change month over month; sales remain at an annual rate of 490,000, up 4.3% year over year.
• $503,700: Median price, up 6.5% from October 2024.

Midwest

• 5.3% increase in sales month over month to an annual rate of 990,000, up 2.1% year over year.
• $319,500: Median price, up 4.6% from October 2024.

South

• 0.5% increase in sales month over month to an annual rate of 1.86 million, up 2.8% year over year.
• $362,300: Median price, up 0.3% from October 2024.

West

• 1.3% decrease in sales month over month to an annual rate of 760,000, down 2.6% year over year.
• $628,500: Median price, up 0.1% from October 2024.

REALTORS^® Confidence Index for October

• 34 days: Median time on market for properties, up from 33 days last month and 29 days in October 2024.
• 32% of sales were first-time homebuyers, up from 30% in July and 27% in October 2024.
• 29% of transactions were cash sales, down from 30% a month ago and up from 27% in October 2024.
• 16% of transactions were individual investors or second-home buyers, up from 15% last month and down from 17% in October 2024.
• 2% of sales were distressed sales[4] (foreclosures and short sales), unchanged from a month ago and October 2024.

Mortgage Rates

• 6.25%: The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in October, according to Freddie Mac, down from 6.35% in September and 6.43% one year ago.

About the National Association of REALTORS^®
The National Association of REALTORS^® is involved in all aspects of residential and commercial real estate. The term REALTOR^® is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS^® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. For free consumer guides about navigating the homebuying and selling transaction processes – from written buyer agreements to negotiating compensation – visit facts.realtor.

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For local information, please contact the local association of Realtors^® for data from local multiple listing services (MLS). Local MLS data is the most accurate source of sales and price information in specific areas, although there may be differences in reporting methodology.
NOTE: NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index for October will be released November 25, and Existing-Home Sales for November will be released December 19. Release times are 10 a.m. Eastern. See NAR’s statistical news release schedule.

Information about NAR is available at nar.realtor. This and other news releases are posted in the newsroom at nar.realtor/newsroom. Statistical data in this release, as well as other tables and surveys, are posted in the “Research and Statistics” tab.

[1] Existing-home sales, which include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, are based on transaction closings from Multiple Listing Services. Changes in sales trends outside of MLSs are not captured in the monthly series. NAR benchmarks home sales periodically using other sources to assess overall home sales trends, including sales not reported by MLSs.
Existing-home sales, based on closings, differ from the U.S. Census Bureau’s series on new single-family home sales, which are based on contracts or the acceptance of a deposit. Because of these differences, it is not uncommon for each series to move in different directions in the same month. In addition, existing-home sales, which account for more than 90% of total home sales, are based on a much larger data sample – about 40% of multiple listing service data each month – and typically are not subject to large prior-month revisions.
The annual rate for a particular month represents what the total number of actual sales for a year would be if the relative pace for that month were maintained for 12 consecutive months. Seasonally adjusted annual rates are used in reporting monthly data to factor out seasonal variations in resale activity. For example, home sales volume is normally higher in the summer than in the winter, primarily because of differences in the weather and family buying patterns. However, seasonal factors cannot compensate for abnormal weather patterns.
Single-family data collection began monthly in 1968, while condo data collection began quarterly in 1981; the series were combined in 1999 when monthly collection of condo data began. Prior to this period, single-family homes accounted for more than nine out of 10 purchases. Historic comparisons for total home sales prior to 1999 are based on monthly single-family sales, combined with the corresponding quarterly sales rate for condos.

[2] Total inventory and month’s supply data are available back through 1999, while single-family inventory and month’s supply are available back to 1982 (prior to 1999, single-family sales accounted for more than 90% of transactions and condos were measured only on a quarterly basis).

[3] The median price is where half sold for more and half sold for less; medians are more typical of market conditions than average prices, which are skewed higher by a relatively small share of upper-end transactions. The only valid comparisons for median prices are with the same period a year earlier due to seasonality in buying patterns. Month-to-month comparisons do not compensate for seasonal changes, especially for the timing of family buying patterns. Changes in the composition of sales can distort median price data. Year-ago median and mean prices sometimes are revised in an automated process if additional data is received.
The national median condo/co-op price often is higher than the median single-family home price because condos are concentrated in higher-cost housing markets. However, in a given area, single-family homes typically sell for more than condos as seen in NAR’s quarterly metro area price reports.

[4] Distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales), days on market, first-time buyers, all-cash transactions and investors are from a monthly survey for the NAR’s REALTORS^® Confidence Index, posted at nar.realtor.

National Association of Realtors®
media@nar.realtor