Existing U.S. home sales down by 6.2% from previous year

Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Existing U.S. home sales dropped by 1% in December and were down 6.2% from the previous year, according to a Friday report from the National Association of Realtors.

The NAR said in a statement, "On an annual basis, existing-home sales (4.09 million) fell to the lowest level in nearly 30 years, while the median price reached a record high of $389,800 in 2023."

The median price rose 4.4% from December 2022.

According to the NAR, the inventory of unsold homes "slumped 11.5% from the previous month to 1 million at the end of December, or the equivalent of 3.2 months' supply at the current monthly sales pace."

"The latest month's sales look to be the bottom before inevitably turning higher in the new year," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun in a statement. "Mortgage rates are meaningfully lower compared to just two months ago, and more inventory is expected to appear on the market in upcoming months."

The Midwest saw the biggest decline in existing home sales in December, down 10.9% from December 2022. Sales were down by 9.4% in the Northeast, down by 4.4% in the South and dropped by 1.4% compared to December 2022 in the West.

Median existing home prices by region were $582,000 in the West, up 4.8% from December 2022.

In the Northeast median prices were $428,100, up 9.4% from December 2022.

Existing homes in the South had a median price of $352,100, up 3.8%. The Midwest saw the lowest median home price of $275,600, an increase of 5.9% from December 2022.

Yun said, "Obviously, the recent, rapid three-year rise in home prices is unsustainable. If price increases continue at the current pace, the country could accelerate into haves and have-nots."

He said that's why creating a path toward home ownership for renters is essential. To do that he said, there must be a steady buildup of home construction as well as economic and income growth.