04:10 PM EDT, 10/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US existing home sales in September fell to an all-time low aside from the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with overall deal closings in Florida impacted by Hurricane Helene, Redfin (RDFN) said Friday.

Existing home sales dropped 0.5% sequentially and 3% annually last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 4.02 million. Total closed sales, including existing and new homes, decreased 0.2% sequentially and 1.6% annually to 412,635, the lowest level since December, according to the real estate brokerage.

Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend area of the Florida Gulf Coast late last month, followed by Hurricane Milton, which could affect October home sales, according to the report. Among the 50 most populous US metropolitan areas tracked by Redfin, Florida metros were impacted the most in September. Closed home sales in West Palm Beach plunged 23% year over year, followed by Tampa, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale, Redfin said.

"We have listings that were flooded and taken off the market, and sellers who were getting ready to list but can't because they need to repair damage," said MaryDell Penney, Redfin's market manager in Orlando, Florida. "Closings are being delayed because most lenders require post-storm reinspections, and insurers stop writing new policies when there's a named storm in the region."

Pending home sales reached 478,074, up 2.5% from August and 3.1% year over year. Redfin said pending home sales rose last month amid a drop in mortgage rates and the start of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy easing cycle.

"September showed that there are buyers and sellers who are ready to jump into the market -- when the conditions are right," Redfin Senior Economist Elijah de la Campa said. "Most buyers who went under contract last month did so when mortgage rates were falling and before two major hurricanes devastated much of the South."

The median home sales price rose 3.9% year over year to $428,212 in September, while the weekly average interest rate on a 30-year mortgage reached a two-year low of 6.08% late last month, Redfin said. Mortgage rates currently sit at 6.44%.

A 25-basis-point reduction in the central bank's interest rates next month is not expected to have a notable impact on mortgage rates, though that could change if the October jobs report, due Nov. 1, has "any surprises," Redfin said.

In September, the Federal Open Market Committee cut interest rates by 50 basis points, versus a Bloomberg-compiled consensus that had indicated a quarter-percentage-point cut.

Prospective homebuyers shouldn't "try to time the market" amid uncertainty over the upcoming jobs report and the US presidential election, De la Campa said. "If you find a house you love and can afford to buy it, now's not a bad time."

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