Share- Last week NAR released a summary of existing home sales data showing that existing home sales will start the 2014 year off with the slowest pace in 18 months. January showed a decrease in sales of 5.1% from last month as well as from a year ago.
- The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $188,900 in January, up 10.7% percent from January 2013.
- All regions showed growth in prices, but the West had the biggest gain at 14.6% from one year ago. The Northeast had the smallest price again at 6.6% from a year ago.
- January’s inventory figures increased by 7.3% from a year ago and it will take 4.9 months to move the current level of inventory. Housing starts will need to bounce back to help strengthen inventory levels.
- With sales down this month, that makes five of the last six months with decreased sales. With prices continuing to increase, the condo market appears to be thriving more than single family homes. There will be a lot of attention directed to changes in mortgage rules going forward to see if there is a change in loan applications. See the full NAR Existing Home Sales press release here and data tables here.
- Find a full graphical summary of the data herepdf.
Also, be sure to check out this January EHS Infographic:
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