US existing home sales rise in November, up for 3rd consecutive month

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US existing home sales increased in November for the third consecutive month, according to National Association of Realtors (NAR) data released Wednesday.

Existing home sales, which measure the change in the number of existing residential buildings sold, rose 1.9% from the previous month to 6.46 million in November.

While the market estimate was 6.52 million, existing home sales stood at 6.34 million in October.

"The median existing-home sales price rose 13.9% year-over-year to $353,900," NAR said in a statement.

"From one year ago, the inventory of unsold homes decreased 13.3% to 1.1 million – equivalent to 2.1 months of the monthly sales pace," it added.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said mortgage rates are estimated to jump in 2022 but the increase is not expected to be dramatic.

"Determined buyers were able to land housing before mortgage rates rise further in the coming months," Yun said. "Locking in a constant and firm mortgage payment motivated many consumers who grew weary of escalating rents over the last year."