US existing home sales fall 2% in September to 13-year low

ISTANBUL

US existing home sales fell 2% in September to their lowest since 2010, according to data released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Existing home sales, which measures the change in the number of existing residential buildings sold, fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.96 million last month.

The figure stood at 4.04 million in August, posting a decline of 0.7%.

Sales were down 15.4% from 4.68 million in September 2022.

"As has been the case throughout this year, limited inventory and low housing affordability continue to hamper home sales," NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement.

"The Federal Reserve simply cannot keep raising interest rates in light of softening inflation and weakening job gains," he added.

The median existing-home sales price was $394,300 -- an increase of 2.8% from September 2022 when it stood at $383,500.