US Existing-Home Sales Rise 0.4% in September as Mortgage Rates Loom

The modest gain matters less than its fragility: a single-month uptick in a market still constrained by elevated prices and rising mortgage rates suggests demand is being pulled forward rather than genuinely recovering. The year-on-year price increase alongside weak volume points to a market clearing on scarcity, not strength, which keeps affordability pressure squarely on prospective buyers and limits how much transaction activity can rebuild. Whether the September gain holds once higher rates feed through to monthly payments is the open question.