Existing-home sales up. Number of homes on the market down.

[Nick Gromicko]

Existing-home sales improved in October while the number of homes on the market continued to decline, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 1.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million in October from a downwardly revised 4.90 million in September, and are 13.5% above the 4.38 million unit level in October 2010.

Total housing inventory at the end of October fell 2.2% to 3.33 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 8.0-month supply at the current sales pace, down from an 8.3-month supply in September. Inventories have been trending gradually down since setting a record of 4.58 million in July 2008.