Sales of existing homes that have been previously occupied increased once again in November. July is generally considered the height of the purchasing season as buyers want to complete their move before school starts. So it is great news that we have continued to beat July’s sales each and every month.
The median price paid for a home increased +0.4% in November and it was the first increase in housing prices since August. This means that even though we are selling more units, it is not due to slashing prices. November saw an increase in the total number of units sold and in the median price, which is a big positive for the housing market.
The supply of home inventory also decreased slightly. Too many homes on the market at once is never good. During July we had 12.5 months of supply available, that moved lower to only 10.5 months worth of supply in November.
What Happened to Rates Last Week:
Mortgage backed securities (MBS) lost -33 basis points from Monday’s open to Thursday’s close causing 30 year fixed rates to move slightly upward from the previous week. We had several rounds of QEII Treasury purchases that helped to keep rates from moving higher. From a technical perspective, our 10 day moving average was a very solid resistance level that prevented any improvement in mortgage rates.
