September existing-home sales increased month-over-month while the median price and total unsold inventory for the category rose year-over-year.

After declining slightly in August, existing-home sales rebounded in September to their highest annual pace of the year, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Total sales of existing single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 2.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.17 million in September, which is up from the 5.05 million total in August, but down 1.7 percent from the 5.26 million-unit level from
last September.

"Low interest rates and price gains holding steady led to September's healthy increase, even with investor activity remaining on par with last month's marked decline," says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. "Traditional buyers are entering a less competitive market with fewer investors searching for available homes, but may also face a slight decline in choices due to the fact that inventory generally falls heading into the winter."

The median existing-home price for all housing types rose year-over-year 5.6 percent to $209,700 - the 31st consecutive month of this type of price gain.

The inventory of existing homes for sale at the end of September fell 1.3 percent to 2.30 million yet that total is still 6.0 percent higher than a year ago, when the amount was 2.17 million. The current unsold inventory represents a 5.3-month supply at the present sales pace.

All-cash sales were 24 percent of transactions for the month, up slightly from August's 23 percent but down from 33 percent in September of last year.