Existing home sales rose after three months of declines as improved inventory gave buyers more negotiating power. As buyers wait for rate relief, homes are sitting on the market longer and for-sale inventory reached the highest level in over a decade. Despite the increase, August and September sales remained the slowest this year. With mortgage rates back above 7% since mid-September, home sales are likely to stay sluggish over the next few months.

Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops, rose 1.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.99 million in September, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). This marked the second-lowest level since July 2025 and only the third time since October 2024 that sales dropped below 4.0 million. On a year-over-year basis, sales were 2.2% lower than a year ago.

The existing home inventory level was 1.60 million units in September, up 1.9% from August and 4.6% from a year ago. At the current sales rate, September unsold inventory sits at a 4.8-months’ supply, unchanged from last month but up from 4.5-months a year ago. This matched last month and was the highest months’ supply since November 2015. Inventory between 4.5 to 6 months’ supply is generally considered a balanced market.

Homes stayed on the market for a median of 33 days in September, up from 31 days in the previous month but unchanged from September 2025.

The first-time buyer share was 31% in September. The share was up from 30% both in August and a year ago.

The September all-cash sales share was 27% of transactions, unchanged from last month and down from 30% in September 2025. All-cash buyers are less affected by changes in interest rates.

The September median sales price of all existing homes was $417,500, up 1.3% from last year. This marks the 39th consecutive month of year-over-year increases. The median condominium/co-op price in September was up 1.2% from a year ago at $363,700. Recent gains for home inventory will put downward pressure on resale home prices in most markets in 2026. Existing home sales in September were mixed across the four major regions. Sales rose in the South (2.8%) and West (2.8%), while they fell in the Northeast (-2.1%). Sales in the Midwest were unchanged. On a year-over-year basis, sales decreased in all four regions, ranging from 0.5% in the South to 2.1% in the Midwest.

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) is a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts. The PHSI rose from 71.0 to 71.2 in August. On a year-over-year basis, pending sales were 4.7% lower than a year ago according to the National Association of Realtors’ data.