Existing-home sales in 2017 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.51 million, a 1.1 percent increase compared with 2016’s rate of 5.45 million and the highest rate since 2006’s 6.48 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Existing-home sales in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million, down 3.6 from November’s rate of 5.78 million.
“Existing sales concluded the year on a softer note, but they were guided higher these last 12 months by a multi-year streak of exceptional job growth, which ignited buyer demand,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “At the same time, market conditions were far from perfect. New listings struggled to keep up with what was sold very quickly, and buying became less affordable in a large swath of the country. These two factors ultimately muted what should have been a stronger sales pace.”
December existing-home sales in the Northeast fell 7.5 percent month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted rate of 740,000. Sales in the Midwest decreased 6.3 percent to 1.33 million. Sales in the South dropped 1.7 percent to 2.3 million, and sales in the West declined 1.6 percent to 1.2 million.
