From GlobeNewswire: 2025-02-21 10:00:00

Existing-home sales in January dropped 4.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.08 million, but increased by 2.0% from the previous year. The median existing-home sales price rose 4.8% to $396,900. Inventory of unsold homes increased by 3.5% to 1.18 million, equivalent to a 3.5 months’ supply at the current sales pace. Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist, noted that mortgage rates have remained steady, impacting housing affordability. First-time buyers accounted for 28% of sales in January, down from 31% the previous month. The median price for single-family homes rose to $402,000, while condos saw an increase to $349,500. Existing-home sales, which include single-family, townhomes, condos, and co-ops, are based on transaction closings from MLS. Changes in sales trends outside of MLS are not captured. The annual rate for a particular month represents what total actual sales for a year would be if the relative pace for that month were maintained for 12 consecutive months. Seasonally-adjusted annual rates are used to factor out seasonal variations in resale activity. Single-family data collection began monthly in 1968, while condo data collection began quarterly in 1981, combining in 1999. Total inventory and month’s supply data are available back through 1999.

The median price is where half sold for more and half sold for less. Medians are more typical of market conditions than average prices. The national median condo/co-op price is often higher than the median single-family home price. Survey results represent owner-occupants only and differ from monthly findings from NAR’s REALTORS® Confidence Index. Results include both new and existing homes. Distressed sales, days on market, first-time buyers, all-cash transactions, and investors data are from a monthly survey for NAR’s REALTORS® Confidence Index.



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