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Sales of previously-loved (also known as ‘existing’) family homes increased by a whopping 0.8% from October to November.

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Experts are polishing their crystal balls and predicting even more gains as interest rates decide to take a nap and settle.

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This increase in sales clashes cheekily with analysts’ predictions, who swore blind the market was on pause to binge-watch Netflix.

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Buyers, particularly in the affordable range, are proving to be rather stubborn and still consider the housing market an appealing place to shop – must be the atmosphere.

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First-time buyers decided to play hard-to-get, comprising a mere 32% of sales in November.

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Total housing inventory took a tumble of 7.3% to 1.67 million homes available for sale, or to put it in perspective: a number slightly less than the population of Idaho.

In Summary: “New Old” Homes Are Still a Hit

In our humble, completely unbiased opinion (okay, maybe slightly biased, we admit), the real estate market is behaving a bit like a rebellious teenager these days – constantly contradicting itself and surprising everyone with a plot twist when least expected. Despite the doom and gloom painted by our dear analysts, existing homes sales managed to spike.

Busted Predictions and Binge-Watching Netflix

The increase is said to be mainly due to unprecedented low interest rates that must have appealed to the buyers’ sense of savings (or maybe just their love for a good bargain). So while analysts thought people were taking a break from buying to binge their favorite shows, turns out they were Netflix & Chilling in their newly purchased homes; the market, it seems, does not ‘pause’ for anyone or anything.

First-Timers Playing Coy

First-time buyers, those typically young, eager shoppers, decided to play a little hard to get this season, accounting for a mere third of total sales. Savvy move, or simply saving up for holiday presents, we wonder?

Idaho Invasion Sized Inventory

As far as housing inventory goes, it shrank faster than a cheap sweater in a hot wash, with the number of homes for sale falling by 7.3%. That being said, there’s still a modest 1.67 million homes out there, rivalling the entire population of Idaho.

What does this all mean, you ask? Well, to put it in the simplest terms — the real estate market continues to be as unpredictable as it is entertaining, with analysts and buyers playing a never-ending game of cat and mouse. Will the analysts ever catch up, or will the buyers continue to surprise? Only time (and maybe a new season on Netflix) will tell.

Original article: https://www.inman.com/2023/12/20/existing-home-sales-inch-up-in-november-after-5-month-decline/