US homes sales dip 2% in November: Report
But the figures are up from last year
Home sales took a slight dive in November.
According to the National Association of Realtors, total sales — including condominiums, co-ops, single-family homes and townhomes — decreased 1.7 percent from October to what the NAR called a “seasonally-adjusted” yearly rate of 5.35 million in November.
Lawrence Yun, a chief economist at the agency, said in a statement that the decline is not a cause for concern: “Sales will be choppy when inventory levels are low, but the economy is otherwise performing very well with more than 2 million job gains in the past year.”
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In fact, while sales declined in November, they are actually up 2.7 percent from the same period last year, helped by sales growth in the Northeast and Midwest United States.
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The median home price for all housing types in October was $271,300, according to the data. That’s up more than 5 percent from the November 2018 median of $257,400, and the uptick marks a striking 93 consecutive months of year-over-year gains in the category.
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In terms of the types of purchases, first-time buyers made up 32 percent of sales in November, individual investors or second-home buyers accounted for 16 percent of sales, all-cash transactions landed at 20 percent of all sales, and distressed sales, or foreclosures and short sales, represented 2 percent of total sales in November.
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