Homebuilding ETFs In Focus Following U.S. Home Resale Data

The recent home resale data from National Association of Realtors (“NAR”) indicated that U.S. homebuilding sectors still faces weaknesses. The data showed a 3.4% decline in existing home sales in the U.S. to an annual rate of 5.36 million units in October from 5.55 million units in September.

The decline is blamed on the shortage of properties that pushed up prices and discouraged buyers of existing homes. Per NAR, the number of unsold homes for October ebbed 2.3% over the previous month to 2.14 million units. Unsold homes inventory was down 4.5% from the prior year. The tight inventory caused median home price to increase 5.8% from the year-ago level to $219,600, marking the 44th straight month of a year-over-year rise (read: Homebuilder Stocks and ETFs Gain on Solid Data).