Having unexpectedly dropped 4.8 percent in August, the seasonally adjusted pace of existing-home sales in the U.S. rebounded 4.7 percent in September to an annual rate of 5.31 million sales, which is 8.8 percent higher versus the same time last year.
Helping drive the uptick in sales, however, was a drop in the median existing-home sale price from $228,700 in August to $221,900 last month, which is now 6.1 percent below the record $236,400 set in June but remains 6.1 percent higher versus the same time last year.
In terms of inventory, the number of unsold homes on the market across the country dropped 2.6 percent to 2.21 million homes at the end of September, which is now 3.1 percent lower than at the same time last year versus 1.7 percent lower last month.
The pace of existing-home sales in the West jumped 6.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.27 million sales in September, which is 9.5 percent higher versus the same time last year.