Add as a preferred source on GoogleU.S. Existing-Home Sales Fall to Lowest Level Since 2010
October sales ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.75 million, down 8.8% from a year earlier, while the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate reached 7.40%.
U.S. existing-home sales fell to their lowest level since 2010 in October, extending strain in the housing market as mortgage costs remained high and Federal Reserve officials signaled a possible December rate increase.
Existing-home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.75 million in October, down 8.8% from October 2025. High mortgage costs were a major factor in the drop.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage reached 7.40% in October, its highest level since 2023. Rates have eased since then but remain above their year-earlier level.
Earlier, September pending home sales, which track signed contracts before purchases close, fell 7.3% from August and 11.3% from September 2025. That measure captures an earlier stage of a home purchase than October’s completed sales.
Joel Berner, a senior economist, described the result as a shock: “It was a punch in the gut. We expected to see a soft month but not the softest month since 2010.”
The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate in September to make borrowing, including mortgages, more expensive as it sought to reduce inflation. Policymakers have signaled another increase could come in December.