U.S. October Existing Housing Volume 3.4% ↑...Drought in sales continues

U.S. housing volumes rose in October, but still remain low, the data showed.

The U.S. Association of Realtors said there were 3.96 million U.S. existing home sales in October, up 3.4% month-on-month and 2.9% from a year ago, largely in line with expert forecasts compiled by Dow Jones.

Although trading volume increased slightly in October, existing U.S. housing volumes remain below 4 million in annualized terms due to a shortage of housing sales and continued high interest rates.

As of the end of October, U.S. existing home inventories were up 0.7% month-on-month and 19.1% year-on-year, respectively, to 1.37 million households, while the median U.S. existing home price in October was $407,200, up 4% from a year ago.

While existing housing transactions account for most of the U.S. housing market transactions, housing inventories are not enough to address the drought in sales, which is believed to have led to the rise in housing prices.