All four geographic regions saw increases, led by the Midwest, which clocked a 10.4% rise from July, and the South, where sales rose 8.6%. Pending transactions rose 7.2% in the West and 4.6% in the North.

The 10-city composite index rose 1.4% on a monthly basis and 19.1% on a yearly basis, while the 20-city composite gained 1.5% monthly and 19.9% annually. 

The Low-Income First Time Homebuyers Act (LIFT) establishes a program to sponsor 20-year mortgages that would build equity at twice the rate of a conventional 30-year mortgage.

The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of July was 378,000, representing a supply of 6.1 months at the current sales rate.

The increase was driven by a 21.6% month-over-month spike in the rate of new multifamily construction. Single-family housing starts, meanwhile, slid 2.8%.

September’s reading of 76 was up one point from August, despite lingering challenges with labor and the building-material supply chain, the National Association of Home Builders reported, citing the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.

Month over month, home sales were down 3.5%, and the median sale price declined 1.2% to $335,000.

The Justice Department’s original complaint against the National Association of Realtors, filed Nov. 19, 2020, alleges that the association enforced rules and policies that illegally hampered competition in residential real estate services.

A decline in new home listings has had little impact on the market as far as demand is concerned, according to a recent Redfin report.

Over the past year, outer suburbs, or exurbs, have experienced a particularly intense boom. It’s those distant areas which saw the sharpest increase in interested buyers, according to Realtor.com.