December Existing Home Sales Surge 0.7% TO 6.76M SAAR; Beats Expected

Annual volume of U.S. existing home sales hit the highest since 2006 as December sales surge 0.7% to 6.76 million SAAR from an upwardly revised 6.71 million in November. Markets had expected 6.56 million.

• December home sales volume jump 22.2% from a year ago
• Median sales price $309,800, up 12.9% from a year earlier; as more larger homes sold skews prices upward
• Sales of million dollar+ homes nearly double over the year
• Sales pace could reach 8 million if the market had more inventory, chief economist Lawrence Yun says
• Inventory is at an all-time low, down 23% from a year ago
• Supply at a record low 1.9 mos, down from 3.0 months a year earlier
• Biden could introduce a homebuyer tax credit, which would encourage more first time buyers