Existing home sales marked their second consecutive month of growth in January, rising 0.6% from the previous month and 23.7% from one year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Total existing home sales—including single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops—rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.69 million in January, up from 5.41 million in January 2020. The median price for all housing types has risen to $303,900, up 14.1% from one year ago.“
By the end of January, housing inventory had fallen to 1.04 million units—a record low and down 25.7% YOY, a record decline. This is equivalent to 1.9 months of inventory at the current sales pace, down from 3.1 months in January 2020. First-time buyers were responsible for 33% of sales in January, up from 31% in December.
“Home sales continue to ascend in the first month of the year, as buyers quickly snatched up virtually every new listing coming on the market,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Sales easily could have been even 20% higher if there had been more inventory and more choices.” Yun expects returning jobs will spur home buying in the coming months and that existing home sales will reach at least 6.5 million in 2021.
Single-family home sales alone rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.93 million in January, up 0.2% from December and 23% from one year ago. The median existing single-family home price was $308,300 in January, up 14.8% from one year ago.
At the regional level, sales performance varied month over month, but all four major regions saw double-digit sales growth year over year. From December to January, existing home sales fell 2.2% in the Northeast and 4.4% in the West, but grew 1.9% in the Midwest and 3.2% in the South.
“Low rates and pent-up demand are the driving forces behind home sales across the country,” says Tendayi Kapfidze, chief economist at LendingTree. “While rising home prices as well as unusually bad weather in many parts of the country may be keeping some buyers from making a move, underlying demand remains strong, and sales will likely continue to increase in the coming months.”
