Existing home sales totaled 6.12 million in 2021, an 8.5% increase compared with 2020 and the highest annual level since 2006, the National Association of Realtors reported.
In December, existing home inventory dropped 18.0% from November to a record-low of 910,000, a 14.2% decline year-over-year and a 1.8-month supply at the current sales pace.
“We saw inventory numbers hit an all-time low in December,” stated Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Home builders have already made strides in 2022 to increase supply, but reversing gaps like the ones we’ve seen recently will take years to correct.”
In December, existing home sales declined 4.6% month-over-month, ending a three-month streak of existing home sale gains. Compared with December 2020, existing home sales declined 7.1%.
“December saw sales retreat, but the pullback was more a sign of supply constraints than an indication of a weakened demand for housing,” Yun stated.
Regionally, December existing home sales dropped 1.3% in the Northeast, 1.3% in the Midwest, 6.3% in the South and 6.8% in the West.
Yun predicts home prices will grow 3–5% in 2022 as mortgage rates rise. In December, existing home prices jumped 15.8% year-over-year to $358,000.
The full report can be found here.
