US home sales rose in September, but slowed from a year earlier as mortgage rates, prices rose

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in September from the previous month, but slowed compared to a year ago, the latest sign the housing market remains stalled as rising mortgage rates and home prices discourage prospective homebuyers.

Existing home sales rose 1.5% last month from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.99 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. One of the factors in the monthly increase is that sales in August were revised lower.

Sales fell 2.2% compared with September last year. The latest sales tally is slightly above the 3.98 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.

Home sales have been mostly hovering close to a 4-million annual pace going back to 2023, far short of the historic norm that is closer to 5.2-million. September is the second month in a row that the annual sales pace has remained below 4 million.

Home prices continued to rise nationally last month. The U.S. median sales price increased 1.3% in September from a year earlier to $417,500, an all-time high for the month of September based on data going back to 1999, NAR said. Home prices have risen on an annual basis for 39 months in a row.

The housing market has been stymied in large part by rising borrowing costs, as mortgage rates have marched higher in the months since the war between the U.S. and Iran started in late February. Expectations of higher inflation amid surging oil prices have pushed up the long-term bond yields that lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans, driving mortgage rates higher.

The average rate on the benchmark 30-year mortgage hit 7.4% last week , its highest level in nearly three years. It briefly dipped below 6% before the war started.