“Listings were modestly higher, and home buyers are taking advantage of lower mortgage rates compared to late last year,” he added.
The total number of existing home sales increased 3.1% from the month prior to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of four million in January. The number was a year-over-year decrease by 1.7%.
Meanwhile, total housing inventory registered by the end of January held up at 1.01 million units, which was a 2% month-over-month increase and a 3.1% year-over-year increase. However, the unsold inventory was at a three-month supply at the current sales pace, which was down from the 3.1 months seen in December.
In January, the median price for existing homes was at $379,100 for all types of houses. This was a 5.1% increase year-over-year with all four regions in the US seeing increases in prices.
“Multiple offers are common on mid-priced homes, and many homes were still sold within a month. The elevated share of cash deals – 32% – indicated a market full of multiple offers and propelled by record-high housing wealth,” said Yun.
