MNI BRIEF: US Existing Home Sales Jump 3.1% To 4.00M In January
U.S. sales of existing homes increased 3.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.00 million in January, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday, slightly above market expectations and the strongest pace of sales since August. Sales have declined 1.7% from last year.
The national median home price was up 5.1% from January 2023 to USD379,100, the seventh consecutive month of year-over-year price gains. The median price was down 0.6% month-over-month. "We are seeing that home prices are again outpacing wages. This will be the first time in 14 months," Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, told reporters. (See: MNI INTERVIEW: Housing Inflation To Keep Fed Cautious-Fannie)
The inventory of unsold existing homes increased 2.0% from one month ago to 1.01 million at the end of January, or the equivalent of 3.0 months’ supply at the current monthly sales pace. All-cash sales accounted for 32% of transactions in January, the highest since 2014.