Each month, the Research Update report provides a summary of the data, reports, blog posts, and instant reactions produced by NAR's research team.
January 2025
Data
Existing-Home Sales
Existing-home sales decreased by 8.4% in January. Month-over-month and year-over-year sales fell in all regions.
Pending Home Sales
Pending home sales in January decreased by 0.8% from the prior month and 0.4% year-over-year.Month-over-month pending home sales rose in the Midwest and West, anddeclined in the Northeast and South. Year-over-year pending home sales rose in the South and West and declined in the Northeast and Midwest.
Housing Affordability Index
Affordability improved for the seventh consecutive month—increasing to 116.5 in January from 111.6 in December and 102 a year ago.
REALTORS® Confidence Index
Median time on market for properties, up from 39 days last month and 41 days in January 2025. 31% of sales were first-time homebuyers, up from 29% in December and 28% one year ago. 27% of transactions were cash sales, down from 28% a month ago and 29% in January 2025.
How REALTORS® Can Use This
REALTORS® can use existing-home sales and pending home sales data to gauge current demand trends and anticipate market shifts. They can also utilize the affordability and quarterly data to identify pricing patterns and assess buyer capacity across different regions to adapt strategies for their clients.
Videos
- Ask the Economist: How Is AI Changing Real Estate?
- Ask the Economist: Why Does Housing Still Feel Unaffordable?
- Ask the Economist: Are We Currently in a K-Shaped Economy?
How REALTORS® Can Use This
“Ask the Economist” is a new video series that gives REALTORS® a quick, easy-to-digest update on new economic trends and market activity, straight from NAR's Research Team. REALTORS® can use this in listing appointments to show buyers/sellers they’re up-to-date on interest rates, housing inventory, etc.; buyer consultations to explain why now might be a good time to act or wait based on real data; email follow-ups: “Here’s what NAR’s latest economist update says about local trends.”
Reports
- January 2026 Commercial Real Estate Market Insights
- Home Prices Increased in 73% of Metro Areas in Fourth Quarter of 2025
- January 2026 Residential Real Estate Market Snapshot (member login required)
How REALTORS® Can Use This
REALTORS® can leverage NAR reports to provide clients with data-driven insights on specific market conditions and equip themselves with important knowledge about the market. This empowers members to assist buyers and sellers in making informed decisions regarding timing, pricing, and location.
Articles on the Economy
- Conditions Change—Opportunity Remains
- Instant Reaction: CPI, February 13, 2026
- Roses Are Red, The Keys Are New, Let's Move In, Me and You?
- Single-Family Home Prices Had Positive Price Gains in 73% of 230 Metro Areas in 2025 Q4
- Instant Reaction: Jobs, February 11, 2026
- For Galentine’s Day, Celebrating Single Women Buyers and Opportunities for Single Men Buyers
- New Construction Sales: Around the Corner or Across the Country?
- Tracking Unemployment Insurance Claims: Week of January 24, 2026
- Amarillo, TX: A Metro Defying the National Mobility Slowdown
- Austin, TX: One of the Fastest-Growing Areas for Households in the Country Over the Past Decade
- San Jose: One of America’s Strongest Married-Couple Markets
- Stockton, CA at the Top: A Decade of Rapid Income Growth
- While America Is Getting Older, Lakeland is Getting Younger
- Provo–Orem: America’s Youngest Metro
How REALTORS® Can Use This
REALTORS® can use the Economists’ Outlook blog to stay updated on experts’ commentary, economic forecasts, housing market outlooks, and regional trends, and then use these insights to help clients on timing purchases or sales based on anticipated market movement. By sharing analysis of the housing market and translating it into consumer-friendly guidance, agents can build credibility and empower their clients to navigate the housing market with confidence.