Home sales in October hit their lowest level since the aftermath of the mortgage crisis as mortgage rates averaged well above 7%.
Existing home sales dropped 5.5% from a month earlier and 8.8% from October 2025 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of just 3.75 million homes, according to National Association of Realtors data released on Thursday. Sales haven’t been that slow since August 2010, when the housing market was still recovering from the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
“It is just a tough market for buyers and sellers trying to get that transaction,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said.
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Mortgage rates crossed 7% in September, but their chilling effect on home sales was slightly delayed. Homes typically go under contract a month or two before they’re sold, meaning that many of September’s buyers could have locked in rates below 7%, while those in October weren’t so lucky.
Sales dropped throughout the country, with the West seeing a particularly steep 14.5% year-over-year decline. Even the Northeast, home to many of the nation’s hottest housing markets, saw home sales fall 4.1% from last year.
The dismal October data and the fact that mortgage rates have stayed above 7% mean home sales this year are likely to come in below 2025’s level of 4.06 million, reaching a more than three-decade low, Yun said.
Claire Boston is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance covering housing, mortgages, and home insurance.
Source: finance.yahoo.com
