January existing-home sales grew 3.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.69 million compared with December’s rate of 5.51 million. The sales rate is the fastest since a level of 5.79 million units was recorded in February 2007, according to the National Association of Realtors.
January’s sales pace is 3.8 percent higher than the rate of 5.48 million in January 2016.
The sales gains in January symbolize consumers’ resilience despite rising interest rates, said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, in a statement.
“Much of the country saw robust sales activity last month as strong hiring and improved consumer confidence at the end of last year appear to have sparked considerable interest in buying a home,” he said. “Market challenges remain, but the housing market is off to a prosperous start as homebuyers staved off inventory levels that are far from adequate and deteriorating affordability conditions.”
Existing-home sales in the Northeast grew 5.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 800,000. In the Midwest, sales decreased 1.5 percent to a rate of 1.29 million. Sales in the South rose 3.6 percent to a rate of 2.31 million and sales in the West increased 6.6 percent to a rate of 1.29 million.
The median existing-home price in January was $228,900, a 7.1 percent increase from $213,700 in January 2016.
