U.S. home sales increased in November for the second straight month, but sales plummeted 7 percent from a year ago amid growing affordability pressures.
The National Association of Realtors says that sales of existing homes rose 1.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.32 million last month. But higher mortgage rates have caused sales over the past 12 months to plunge at the steepest pace since May 2011, when the real estate sector was still in the grips of the housing bust.
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The declining stock market has created an additional drag for would-be buyers seeking to buy more expensive homes, as sales of properties worth more than $1 million declined from a year ago.
The median sales price in November was $257,700, up 4.2 percent from last year.
