Sales of existing homes dropped in October to their slowest pace since August 2010. They fell 5.5% from September to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 3.75 million, the National Association of Realtors reported on Thursday, Nov. 12. That is 8.8% below October 2025.
Prices barely moved. The median existing home sold for $416,700, up 0.4% from a year earlier, the 40th straight month of annual gains. Homes also sat longer, a median of 35 days, and the supply of unsold homes rose to 1.59 million, enough for 5.1 months at the current pace, up from 4.4 months a year ago.
"Home buying is difficult when mortgage rates have climbed to their highest levels since 2000, aside from a single month in 2023," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said.
What mortgage rates did
NAR's release puts the October average for a 30-year fixed rate at 7.33%, up from 6.86% in September and 6.25% a year earlier. Rates have eased since. Freddie Mac's weekly survey put the 30-year average at 7.11% on Nov. 12, the fourth weekly decline in a row and the lowest in seven weeks. A year ago the average was 6.24%.
On a median-priced home with 10% down, principal and interest at today's 7.11% come to about $2,523 a month. The same calculation for last year's median price at last year's 6.24% rate comes to about $2,297, so a buyer today pays roughly $226 more each month for nearly the same house. Those figures are an Edit USA calculation from the NAR prices and Freddie Mac rates and leave out taxes, insurance and mortgage insurance.
NAR's affordability index fell to 100.7 from 107.3 a year earlier, and it declined in every region.
Where sales fell, and who is still buying
| Region | Annual sales pace | Change from October 2025 | Median price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast | 470,000 | Down 4.1% | $519,600 |
| Midwest | 900,000 | Down 8.2% | $324,300 |
| South | 1.73 million | Down 8% | $360,900 |
| West | 650,000 | Down 14.5% | $624,300 |
The West took the sharpest hit, with sales down 9.7% in a single month and flat prices from a year ago. The South was the only region where the median price slipped, by 0.4%. Northeast sales held steady from September, and prices there rose the most, 3.2%.
First-time buyers made up 29% of October sales, down from 32% a year earlier, while cash deals held at 29% and investors and second-home buyers rose to 20% of the market from 16%. Distressed sales stayed at 2%.
Yun said the 88 million homeowners in the country are "largely in a comfortable financial position" because of the equity they have built. "Based on the current underwhelming home sales pace at a time of consistent job growth, there could be sizable pent-up demand if mortgage rates decline," he said.
