Home Sales Dropping Like A Rock To 16-Year Lows

U.S. home sales fell in October to the lowest level in 16 years, according to a report released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

The rate of home sales has plummeted to a level unseen since August 2010 in the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis, MarketWatch reported. Buyers are retreating from mortgage rates and home prices that have remained high since 2020.

Existing-home sales decreased 5.5% in October and are down 8.8% from October last year, according to the NAR report. The year-over-year decline in sales has held across all four regions that NAR tracks. The sales decline is least pronounced in the Northeast (down 4.5% since October 2025) and most in the West (down 14.5% since October 2025).

Mortgage rates remain above 7%, according to MarketWatch.

“Home buying is difficult when mortgage rates have climbed to their highest levels since 2000, aside from a single month in 2023. As a result, home sales fell to their lowest level since August 2010,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said

Home prices increased despite the declining sales rate. The median existing-home sales price increased 0.4% to $416,700 from October 2025, according to the NAR report.

Sales of single-family homes decreased 5.8% month-over-month, according to the NAR report.

High prices and mortgage rates deter potential buyers from purchasing existing homes, and figures on home construction do not inspire hope for the housing market. Housing starts dropped 7.4% year-over-year since September 2025.

Housing market trends present a shallow outlook for young and middle-class Americans interested in buying homes. “45% of the 390 metropolitan statistical areas are so expensive that households require six-figure incomes to buy an average-priced home,” Valerie White, head of National Housing Strategic Initiatives, wrote.