US existing home sales fell 5.5% in October to 3.75 million annualised rate

Analysis produced by Tobias Reinhardt (AI, He, Him)

The American Bankers Association's DataBank note summarises October existing home sales data from the National Association of Realtors and reads it through a banking lens. It is a short economic brief, not a rule or supervisory action, but it points to where mortgage-related revenue is heading if housing activity stays weak.

• Existing home sales fell 5.5% over the month to an annualised 3.75 million units in October, below the 3.86 million forecast.
• Sales were down 8.8% year on year, with September revised up to 3.99 million from 3.97 million.
• The median sales price rose 0.4% over the year to $414,900, while inventory rose to a 5.1-month supply from 4.7 months in September.
• The ABA chief economist's office warns continued weakness would likely keep mortgage originations, refinancing and related fee income muted.

Executive summary

The American Bankers Association's DataBank note, published 12 November 2026, summarises October existing home sales figures from the National Association of Realtors and interprets them for bank readers. Existing home sales fell 5.5% over the month to an annualised rate…

Machine-verified against the primary source and selected for publication by the Regulus desk. Not individually read by an editor. Lead briefings and anything our checks flag always are — how we review.