U.S. existing-home sales improved for the second month in a row, jumping 9.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.38 million units, exceeding economists’ expectations and marking the largest monthly gain in a year, according to the National Association of REALTORS®(NAR). The rebound in home sales comes amid fluctuating mortgage rates and elevated sales prices, indicating there is plenty of buyer demand heading into the spring selling season.
New Listings were up 2.9% for single-family homes but decreased 0.6% for Condo/TIC/Coop properties. Pending Sales increased 29.8% for single-family homes and 11.9% for Condo/TIC/Coop properties.
The Median Sales Price was up 3.1% to $1,747,500 for single-family homes and 8.5% to $1,150,000 for Condo/TIC/Coop properties. Months' Supply of Inventory decreased 16.7% for single-family units but was up 11.4% for Condo/TIC/Coop units.
The recent surge in home sales was likely due to a dip in mortgage rates in December and an increase in housing supply nationwide. According to NAR, total inventory grew 5.9% month-over-month and 10.3% year-over-year to 1.07 million units, for a 2.9 months’ supply at the current sales pace. Buyer demand remains robust, and the limited supply of inventory helped push the median existing-home sales price up 5.7% year-over-year to $384,500, the eighth consecutive month of annual price increases.
