Homes for sale are drawing more visits from potential buyers, new data shows.
The number of home viewings increased 7 percent in October from one year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. The organization records the number of times agents access lockboxes to enter homes for sale. Buyer interest has been headed in a positive direction in recent months, as mortgage rates moderated and more homes came on the market.
Contracts to buy existing single-family houses and condos climbed 2 percent in October from the previous month, the NAR said, the third consecutive month of gains. Pending sales were up more than 5 percent nationwide from a year ago and in all four U.S. regions, including a 17% gain in the West and a 7 percent increase in the Northeast.
House showings increased the most in October in the Northeast, where they were up 24% from the prior year, and in the West, where they rose 12%. The total number of showings recorded by agents around the United States was 688,096, up from 641,993 one year earlier. The NAR data covers about a third of home showings across the country.
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“More notable gains from a year ago occurred in the expensive regions of the Northeast and West. The record-high stock market is providing a boost for upper-end home buyers,” said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist.
Lockbox data is largely from existing homes for sale, as opposed to those that are newly built, Yun said. The amount of foot traffic to homes on the market is an indicator of buying trends two or three months in the future, according to the NAR, including contracts to buy homes and actual sales.
The NAR reported last week that existing single-family home and condo sales rose more than 3 percent in October over the previous month to a seasonally adjusted 3.96 million, and they were up about the same amount from one year earlier. The supply of existing homes was up more than 19% in October from a year earlier, and rose just less than 1 percent from one month earlier.
The average 30-year, fixed-rate home mortgage headed higher starting in October before decreasing slightly to 6.81% this week. That's down from 7.22% one year earlier.