The National
Association of Realtors (NAR) reported on Friday that the U.S. existing home
sales climbed by 2.2 per cent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.24 million
in December 2024 from an unrevised 4.15
million in November 2024. This was the highest rate since February 2024 (4.38 million).
Economists had predicted
home re-sales accelerating to a 4.19 million-unit pace last month.
In y-o-y terms, existing home sales surged 9.3 per cent in December. This marked the largest annual gain
since June 2021 (+23.0 per cent y-o-y).
According to
the report, three out of four major
regions - the Northeast (+3.9 per cent m-o-m), South (+3.2 per cent m-o-m),
West (+2.6 per cent m-o-m) - registered gains in existing-home sales on a m-o-m basis, while the Midwest (-1.0 per cent m-o-m) recorded a decline.
In y-o-y terms,
all four regions posted increases in existing home sales in December, led by the
West (+12.9 per
cent y-o-y).
Over the
reviewed period, the median existing-home price for all housing types jumped 6.0
per cent y-o-y (the most since October 2022) to $404,400, underpinned by advances
in prices in all four U.S. regions. This was the 18th straight month
of year-over-year increases in median existing-home price.
Single-family
home sales came in at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 3.83 million in December,
up 1.9 per cent m-o-m and 10.1 per cent y-o-y. Meanwhile, existing condominium and co-op sales were recorded
at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 410,000 units last month, up 5.1 per cent m-o-m and 2.5 per cent y-o-y.
Commenting on
the latest data, Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said that home sales in the
final months of the year showed solid recovery despite elevated mortgage rates. "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," he noted, adding that job and wage gains, along with increased inventory, are
positively impacting the market.