MNI BRIEF: US Existing Home Sales Rise 2.2% To 4.24M In Dec
MNI (WASHINGTON) - U.S. sales of existing homes increased 2.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.24 million in December, the National Association of Realtors said Friday, the best performance since February and above market expectations of 4.20 million. Sales climbed 9.3% from a year earlier, the biggest rise since June 2021.
The national median home price was up 6.0% over the last year to USD404,400, the 18th consecutive month of year-over-year gains and biggest yearly growth since October 2022 (+6.5%). The inventory of unsold existing homes dropped 13.5% from the previous month to 1.15 million at the end of December, or the equivalent of 3.3 months’ supply at the current monthly sales pace.
Even with the solid upturn in the fourth quarter, on an annual basis, existing-home sales (4.06 million) fell to the lowest level since 1995, while the median price reached a record high of USD407,500 in 2024.
"I will say that some of the qualitative data is showing that the buyer recovery that we are seeing is still not set in stone, because I think the mortgage rates are still high," NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun told reporters.