The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales were down 1% in September to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 3.84 million – down 3.5% year over year.  Total housing inventory at the end of September was 1.39 million units, up 1.5% from August and up 23% from one year ago.  Unsold inventory sits at a 4.3-month supply at the current sales rate with properties remaining on the market for around 28 days.  The median existing-home price for all housing types in September was $404,500.

““Home sales have been essentially stuck at around a four-million-unit pace for the past 12 months, but factors usually associated with higher home sales are developing…There are more inventory choices for consumers, lower mortgage rates than a year ago and continued job additions to the economy…”  Said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.