The numbers: Sales of existing homes in the United States rose 0.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $ 6.69 million, the National Association of Realtors said on Friday. Compared to a year ago, home sales increased by 23.7%.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had predicted that sales of existing homes would fall at a median rate of 6.66 million.
What happened: The average price of existing homes rose to $ 303,900 in January, up 14.1% from last year.
The inventory of sales houses fell to a record level of 1.04 million units by the end of January. This represents a decrease of 25.7% from year to year. The market had a 1.9-month supply of homes for sale. A 6-month supply is considered a sign of a balanced market.
The South and Midwest showed an increase in sales in January.
Overview: Sales have been moving sideways since a peak in October. Economists believe that low mortgage rates will continue to increase demand for housing in the coming months. Buyers are also looking for more space and more remote locations following the pandemic.
What NAR said: “Home sales continue to grow in the first month of the year, as buyers quickly took over virtually every new listing on the market. Sales could easily have been even 20% higher if there had been more stocks and more options, ”said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.
What do economists say? “In general, record low mortgage rates and families fleeing crowded living conditions fuel demand for single-family homes, despite continuing labor market unrest and higher house prices. Indeed, this is a sector that is coming out of the crisis stronger than it has entered, “said Josh Shapiro, chief American economist at MFR Inc.
Market reaction: US stocks opened Friday with the S&P 500 SPX,
increased 12.48 points in mid-day trading after declining in the last three trading sessions.