US existing home sales slip as expected in September

Second-hand home sales slipped last month weighed down by fast-rising mortgage rates, led by declines in the more expensive regions of the US.

According to the National Association of Realtors, in seasonally adjusted terms, existing home sales shrank at a month-on-month clip of 1.5% to reach an annualised pace of 4.71m.

Economists had penciled-in a reading of 4.7m.

"The housing sector continues to undergo an adjustment due to the continuous rise in interest rates, which eclipsed 6% for 30-year fixed mortgages in September and are now approaching 7%," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.

"Expensive regions of the country are especially feeling the pinch and seeing larger declines in sales."

The inventory of homes available to be sold fell by 2.3% on the month to 1.25m, but was unchanged att 3.2 months' worth of sales.

Nevertheless, Yun also said that homes were still attracting multiple bids with a quarter of them selling above their list price on account of the reduced inventories.

"The current lack of supply underscores the vast contrast with the previous major market downturn from 2008 to 2010, when inventory levels were four times higher than they are today," he added.

The median price for an existing home increased by 8.4% versus August to reach $384,800 with prices heading higher across the country.