Sales of existing homes were down 1.7% in November, a 5-month low, while prices increased by 5.4% versus a year ago. The primary cause for the inventory decline is that the number of available homes was down 7.3%, a record for the month, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
According to Jessica Lautz, the NAR’s VP for demographics and behavioral insights, “America is facing a housing shortage and affordability challenges.”