Sales and Prices Increase,
Inventory Sharply Declines

Home sales, which lagged during the first part of 2019, continued their recent rebound with another strong month in October. October 2019 sales finished 3.9% higher than in October 2018. At the same time, inventory posted a steep 9.0% year-over-year decline across the report’s 54 metro areas, while the Median Sales Price of $254,800 set an October record.

With May, July and September already in the positive column, October became the fourth month of the past six to post a year-over-year increase in sales, which hadn’t happened for nine months prior to May.

Meanwhile, inventory resumed the skid that has dominated the last decade. October’s year-over-year decline of 9.0% was the largest for any month since May 2018. The downturn resulted in October’s Months of Inventory dropping to 3.1 – the lowest October amount in the report’s 11-year history. The 49 Days on Market was the second-lowest figure for October in report history, trailing only 2018’s 48.

The Median Sales Price of $254,800 set an October record for the report and the 8.4% increase year over year was the highest for the month since 2013.

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