U.S. Existing Homes Sales Continue to Rise in December
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Sales increase to highest level since February.
- Existing home sales rise in three of four regions of the country.
- Median price holds steady.
Sales of existing homes increased 2.2% (9.3% y/y) to 4.24 million (SAAR) during December after rising an unrevised 4.8% to 4.15 million in November. Sales increased 3.4% during October but fell 1.3% in September. The December sales increase accompanied an easing last month in the effective 30-year mortgage interest rate to an average 6.72% from 6.81% in November. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected December sales of 4.17 million units. The sales figures are based on closings of sales signed over the past couple of months.
The median price of all existing homes (NSA) held steady (+6.1% y/y) in December at $404,400, with November, revised from $406,100. Prices remained below the $426,900 high this past June. The median price of an existing single-family home also was unchanged (+6.1% y/y) at $409,300 in December. The median price of condos and co-ops edged 0.2% higher (4.5% y/y) to $359,000 in December from $358,200 in November.
By region, sales of existing homes in the Northeast rose 3.9% (10.4% y/y) to 530,000 after an 8.5% November gain. Sales in the South increased 3.2% (9.0% y/y) to 1.93 million after a 5.6% November rise. Sales in the West improved 2.6% (12.9% y/y) to 790,000 after holding steady in November. To the downside, sales in the Midwest eased 1.0% (+6.5% y/y) to 990,000 after a 5.3% November increase.
The number of existing homes for sale (NSA) fell 13.5% (+16.2% y/y) to 1.15 million after falling 2.9% in November. The supply of homes on the market at the current selling rate (NSA) fell to 3.3 months from 3.8 months in November. This figure rose to a high of 4.3 months in September. The record low in supply of 1.6 months was reached in January 2022. These figures date back to January 1999.
The data on existing home sales, prices and affordability are compiled by the National Association of Realtors. The data on single-family home sales extend back to February 1968. Total sales and price data and regional sales can be found in Haver's USECON database. Regional price and affordability data and national inventory data are available in the REALTOR database. Mortgage interest rates can be found in the WEEKLY database. The expectations figure is from the Action Economics Forecast Survey, reported in the AS1REPNA database.
How Did U.S. Teenagers Benefit from Holiday Employment? from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis is available here.
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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