Existing Home Sales Increase, Hit Decade High in January

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Wednesday existing home sales surpassed a recent cyclical high and increased in January by the fastest pace in nearly a decade. Total existing home sales–or, completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops–rose 3.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.69 million in January.

“Much of the country saw robust sales activity last month as strong hiring and improved consumer confidence at the end of last year appear to have sparked considerable interest in buying a home,” Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist said. “Market challenges remain, but the housing market is off to a prosperous start as homebuyers staved off inventory levels that are far from adequate and deteriorating affordability conditions.”

The results are 3.8% higher than a year ago and mark the strongest month posted since February 2007, according to NAR. All major regions except for the Midwest saw sales gains last month. Existing home sales in the Northeast gained 5.3% to an annual rate of 800,000, or 6.7% above a year ago, while the median price in the Northeast was $253,800, or 2.5% above January 2016.

In the Midwest, sales fell 1.5% to an annual rate of 1.29 million in January and are 0.8% below a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $174,900, up 6.5% from a year ago.

The South rose 3.6% to an annual rate of 2.31 million and are now 3.1% higher than January 2016, while median price in the South was $201,400, up 9.2% from a year ago.

Existing home sales in the West increased 6.6% to an annual rate of 1.29 million in January, and are 8.4% higher than a year ago. The median price in the West was $332,300, up 6.8% from January 2016.

“Competition is likely to heat up even more heading into the spring for house hunters looking for homes in the lower- and mid-market price range,” Mr. Yun added.