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Both home sales and home prices were on the rise throughout the U.S. in the third quarter, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Total existing-home sales, including for single-family houses and condominiums, increased 3.4 percent from the second quarter to the third quarter, hitting a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.48 million, or 8.3 percent higher than a year ago.
“The demand for buying picked up speed in many metro areas during the summer as more households entered the markets, encouraged by favorable mortgage rates and improving local economies,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, says.
However, high demand and a limited supply of homes for sale contributed to climbing home prices in parts of the country, likely limiting sales, he says.
“Unfortunately, the lack of any meaningful gains in housing supply pushed prices in some areas above what some potential buyers — especially first-time buyers — are able to afford,” he says.
The median existing-home price for single-family homes in the third quarter was $229,000, up 5.5 percent from the third quarter of 2014.
