U.S. Existing Home Sales Jump Much More Than Expected In December

(RTTNews) - A report released by the National Association of Realtors on Friday showed existing home sales in the U.S. jumped by much more than expected in the month of December.

NAR said existing home sales shot up by 2.2 percent to an annual rate of 4.24 million in December after surging by 4.7 percent to a rate of 4.15 million in November. Economists had expected existing home sales to rise by 1.0 percent to an annual rate of 4.19 million.

With the bigger than expected increase, existing home sales reached their highest level since hitting an annual rate of 4.38 million last February.

"Home sales in the final months of the year showed solid recovery despite elevated mortgage rates," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "Home sales during the winter are typically softer than the spring and summer, but momentum is rising with sales climbing year-over-year for three straight months."

"Consumers clearly understand the long-term benefits of homeownership," he added. "Job and wage gains, along with increased inventory, are positively impacting the market."

The report said housing inventory at the end of December totaled 1.15 million units, down 13.5 percent from 1.33 million units in November but up 16.2 percent from 990,000 units in the same month a year ago.

The unsold inventory represents 3.3 months of supply at the current sales pace, down from 3.8 months in November but up from 3.1 months in December 2023.

NAR also said the median existing home price was $404,400 in December, unchanged from November but up 6.0 percent from $381,400 a year ago.

"The median home price was elevated partly due to the upper-end market's relative better performance," Yun said. "Sales rose by 35% from a year ago for homes priced above $1 million, while sales fell for homes priced under $250,000."

Next Monday, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release a separate report on new home sales in the month of December.

Economists currently expect new home sales to climb 0.9 percent to an annual rate of 670,000 in December after spiking by 5.9 percent to a rate of 664,000 in November.