Home Buying Takes a Chilly Turn in November

Buying a home in November was tough. Prices stayed high, mortgage rates didn't budge much, and there were fewer homes on the market. Sales of used homes only went up a tiny bit from October. They were even lower than they were in November last year. About 4. 13 million homes were sold in a year, but that's not great news. Homes stayed on the market longer too. They sat there for 36 days instead of 32 days last November. First-time buyers made up only 30% of sales. That's less than usual. Investors, though, jumped in more. They made up 18% of sales, up from 13% last year. The number of homes for sale dropped in November. There were 1. 43 million homes up for grabs at the end of the month. That's down from October but still up from last year. At this pace, it would take 4. 2 months to sell all those homes. Experts say a balanced market would have a six-month supply.Why aren't more homes hitting the market? Well, homeowners aren't in a hurry to sell. They're sitting pretty with high home values and low distressed property sales. Plus, sellers are pulling their homes off the market more than usual as winter approaches. Home prices keep climbing. The median price of a home sold in November was $409, 200. That's up from last year and the highest ever for November. But not all homes are doing well. Cheaper homes, priced between $100, 000 and $250, 000, saw fewer sales. Meanwhile, luxury homes over $1 million did better. So, what's the deal? Wages are going up, which helps with affordability. But if the supply of homes doesn't catch up with demand, things could get tougher. Buyers might have to wait longer and pay more.