Business & Finance

US existing home sales fell to slowest pace since 2010 in October

Sales fell 5.5% from September and missed economist forecasts, while the October median sales price set a record.

Published Nov 12, 2026 · 19:39 UTC2 reports

The short version

Existing U.S. home sales fell 5.5% in October from September to a seasonally adjusted 3.75 million units, the slowest pace since August 2010, according to the National Association of Realtors.[Associated Press]
Sales of already built homes were down 8.8% from a year earlier, and the total fell short of the 3.8 million pace economists expected, according to FactSet.[Associated Press · The Guardian]
The national median sales price rose 0.4% from a year earlier to $416,700, an all-time October high, while first-time buyers made up just 29% of purchases.[Associated Press]
Unresolved: analysts disagree on duration, with BMO Capital Markets expecting continued pressure while Realtor.com's Danielle Hale says this is not a new normal.[Associated Press · The Guardian]

Existing U.S. home sales fell 5.5% month over month in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.75 million units, the slowest pace since August 2010.[Associated Press]
Sales of already built homes dropped 8.8% from a year earlier, according to NAR.[The Guardian]
The latest sales total fell short of the 3.8 million pace economists expected, according to FactSet.[Associated Press]
The U.S. median sales price rose 0.4% from a year earlier to $416,700, an all-time high for October in data dating to 1999, according to NAR.[Associated Press]
First-time buyers accounted for 29% of October home purchases, down from 31% in September and 32% a year earlier, according to NAR.[Associated Press]
Unsold homes totaled 1.59 million at the end of October, up 1.3% from September and 4.6% from a year earlier, according to NAR.[Associated Press]
The national median home listing price fell 2.2% from a year earlier to $415,000 in October, and about 20.5% of listings had their initial price lowered, according to Realtor.com.[Associated Press]

Analysts disagree on how long the slowdown will last. BMO Capital Markets expects housing to stay under pressure for some time, while Realtor.com's chief economist says this is not a new normal. These are opinions, not measured outcomes.[Associated Press · The Guardian]
The verified reporting does not establish a cause for the slowdown. The Guardian attributes it to mortgage rates and inflation, but that causal link was not independently verified here.[The Guardian]

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.