US existing-home sales fall 5.5% in October to lowest pace since 2010

Sales of previously owned homes in the United States fell 5.5% in October from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.75 million, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said on Thursday, November 12, 2026. Sales were 8.8% lower than a year earlier.

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said sales fell to their lowest level since August 2010, according to RISMedia. Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale made the same comparison, RISMedia reported, putting the August 2010 pace at 3.68 million.

Mortgage rates

NAR attributed the decline to borrowing costs. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 7.33% in October, up from 6.86% in September and 6.25% a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac figures cited in the NAR release.

"Home buying is difficult when mortgage rates have climbed to their highest levels since 2000," Yun said in the release. HousingWire noted that the comparison excludes a single month in 2023.

Prices and inventory

The median price of an existing home was $416,700, up 0.4% from $414,900 a year earlier, NAR said, the 40th consecutive month of year-over-year gains.

There were 1.59 million homes for sale at the end of October, up 1.3% from September and 4.6% from a year earlier. That is equal to 5.1 months of supply at the current sales pace, compared with 4.7 months in September and 4.4 months a year ago. NAR's housing affordability index fell to 100.7 from 107.3 a year earlier.

Regions and buyers

Sales fell from a year earlier in all four regions, according to NAR. The West recorded the steepest drop, with sales down 9.7% from September and 14.5% from a year earlier, to an annual pace of 650,000. Sales in the Northeast were unchanged from September at 470,000, down 4.1% on the year. Sales fell 6.5% in the South, to 1.73 million, and 3.2% in the Midwest, to 900,000.

First-time buyers accounted for 29% of sales, down from 32% a year earlier. Investors and second-home buyers made up 20%, up from 16%. All-cash sales were 29% and distressed sales 2%. Homes typically stayed on the market for 35 days, NAR said.

Outlook

Yun said in the release that distressed sales remained "historically low" and that, given job growth, "there could be sizable pent-up demand if mortgage rates decline."

Selma Hepp, chief economist at Cotality, told HousingWire that "housing affordability remains a major constraint," citing high monthly payments and rising insurance, property tax and utility costs. Sean Fergus of NewHomeSource and Zonda said that buyers who stepped back when rates reached about 7.4% in mid-October may not appear in the figures until November and December closings, HousingWire reported.