Used-vehicle inventory edged slightly higher in October as the average listing price kept climbing, now just shy of $27,000, according to the Cox Automotive analysis of vAuto Available Inventory data.

The total supply of unsold used vehicles on dealer lots across the U.S. edged higher to 2.3 million units at the end of October, compared with Cox Automotive’s revised number of 2.28 million at the end of September, according to a Nov. 22 news release summarizing the inventory data. October’s supply was about 8% lower than 2020.

At the end of October, the days’ supply of unsold used vehicles was 42, holding steady from the revised number of 42 at the end of September. Days’ supply was 14% below year-ago levels.

The Cox Automotive days’ supply is based on the daily sales rate for the most recent 30-day period, which ended Oct. 25. About 1.65 million used vehicles were sold during that period, compared with 1.61 million sold in the same September period. October sales ran about 7% below the same year-ago period.

The average listing price for used vehicles continued to climb to a new record of $26,971, up from the revised September number of $26,548. The average listing price is running 25% above year-ago levels and 38% over pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

By price segment, used vehicles under $10,000 had the lowest days’ supply at 32. The $10,000 to $25,000 price categories had the next lowest days’ supply, ranging from 37 to 39. Price categories above $25,000 had a range of 43- to 48-days’ supply.

In sheer volume, the lowest price segments had the lowest available supply – less than 10,000 each in two segments. The $25,000 to $30,000 category had the highest volume at 1.09 million vehicles available for sale. The $20,000 to $25,000 segment had just over a half-million units for sale. The rest of the price segments had a supply of around 200,000.