US existing home sales unexpectedly rise in November

Sales of US existing homes unexpectedly rose in November, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.

Sales rose 1.9% from October to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 5.32m, beating expectations for a drop to 5.20m. On the year, sales were down 7%.

Meanwhile, the median price of an existing home was up 4.2% to $257,700, marking the 81st straight month of year-over-year gains.

Total housing inventory decreased to 1.74m from 1.85m existing homes available for sale in October.

Existing home sales in the Northeast were up 7.2% to an annual rate of 740,000, but 2.6% below last year. In the Midwest, sales rose 5.5% from October to 1.34m in November, but were down 4.3% on the year. Sales in the South were 2.3% higher at 2.20m in November.

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said: "The market conditions in November were mixed, with good signs of stabilising home sales compared to recent months, though down significantly from one year ago. Rising inventory is clearly taming home price appreciation."