Existing Home Sales Drop 37% in November
In November 2020 existing home sales dropped 37% from January's high due largely in part to still-high housing costs and surging interest rates but experts remain hopeful that things will improve going forward as more people get vaccinated against COVID-19 and economic stimulus measures help many Americans make ends meet while they look for work or wait for their industry’s recovery post-pandemic lockdowns
Dec. 24, 2022 9:37PM
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A picture of a house with a "For Sale" sign out front surrounded by red arrows pointing down representing declining home sales numbers over time
November saw a dramatic decrease in existing home sales, dropping 37% from January’s high of 6.49 million annualized pace. The decline is attributed to buyers being confronted with the insurmountable wall of still-high housing costs and surging interest rates. According to George Ratiu, Senior Economist at Realtor.com, homes spent 10 extra days on the market compared to this time last year - making it the 20th straight week that homes have spent more time on market than last year. The news isn't all bad though - after a historically low rate of change between 2020 and 2021, the U.S. resident population increased by 0.4%, or 1,256,003, to 333,287,557 in 2022 according to data from the U.S Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program released today (April 7th). This growth may help offset some of the decline in existing home sales as new residents enter into local markets and need places to live. In addition to high housing costs and rising interest rates contributing to fewer sales for existing homes in November, there are other factors that could be playing a role such as tight inventory levels due to limited construction activity during COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and an overall decrease in consumer confidence due to economic uncertainty caused by job losses throughout 2020. Despite these challenges faced by potential homebuyers and sellers alike this past November, experts are hopeful that things will improve going forward with more people vaccinated against COVID-19 each day across the country and economic stimulus measures helping many Americans make ends meet while they look for work or wait for their industry’s recovery post-pandemic lockdowns.