Existing Home Sales

Existing home sales, published monthly by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), represent the completed transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops that have been previously occupied. The data is typically released in the third or fourth week of the month covering the prior month's transactions, where a transaction counts when the purchase contract closes. This closing lag means existing home sales reflect market conditions from roughly four to eight weeks earlier, making the data a slightly lagging indicator compared to pending home sales.

Existing homes account for approximately 85% to 90% of total U.S. home sales volume, making this report far more representative of overall housing market activity than the new home sales report. The NAR presents data as a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR), which normalizes for seasonal patterns — real estate activity typically surges in spring and summer and slows in winter — allowing month-to-month comparisons.

The report includes median and average sale prices, months of supply (the number of months it would take to sell all homes currently listed at the current sales pace), and regional breakdowns for the Northeast, Midwest, South, and West. Months of supply is particularly informative: readings below 6 months historically indicate a seller's market with upward price pressure, while readings above 6 months suggest a buyer's market where prices may soften.

Existing home sales are heavily influenced by mortgage rates, household income growth, consumer confidence, and the availability of homes for sale. When mortgage rates rise sharply, affordability erodes and potential sellers who locked in low rates become reluctant to list their homes — a phenomenon sometimes called the 'lock-in effect' — which can simultaneously reduce demand and supply. The Federal Reserve monitors housing market conditions as part of its assessment of overall economic activity and the transmission of monetary policy.