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.
- Single Family Closed Sales were down 18.8 percent to 1,107.
- Townhouse-Condo Closed Sales were down 17.3 percent to 307.
- Adult Communities Closed Sales were down 6.0 percent to 47.
- Single Family Median Sales Price increased 16.0 percent to $580,000.
- Townhouse-Condo Median Sales Price increased 13.0 percent to $390,000.
- Adult Communities Median Sales Price increased 19.1 percent to $545,000.
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.
