Existing home sales decreased 8.4% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.91 million. Year-over-year, sales decreased 4.4%. Month-over-month and year-over-year, sales decreased in the Northeast, Midwest, South and West.
“The decrease in sales is disappointing. The below-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation this January make it harder than usual to assess the underlying driver of the decrease and determine if this month’s numbers are an aberration,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Affordability conditions are improving, with NAR’s Housing Affordability Index showing that housing is the most affordable it’s been since March 2022. This is due to wage gains outpacing home price growth and mortgage rates being lower than a year ago. However, supply has not kept pace and remains quite low.”
Total housing inventory registered at the end of January was 1.22 million units, down 0.8% from December but up 3.4% from one year ago (1.18 million). Unsold inventory sits at a 3.7-month supply at the current sales pace, up from 3.5 months in December and one year ago.
The median existing home price for all housing types in January was $396,800, up 0.9% from one year ago ($393,400), the 31st consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.
Distressed sales, foreclosures and short sales, represented 2% of sales in January, unchanged from December and down from 3% in January 2025.
Read the NAR release.
