Existing home sales resumed an
upward trajectory in December. After drifting lower by 2.5 percent in November,
breaking a five-month streak of gains, the National Association of Realtors®
(NAR) said sales in the last month of the year rose 0.7 percent.
Sales of single-family homes,
townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops, were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate
of 6.76 million during the month, compared to 6.69 million units in November. This
represented a 22.2 percent increase over the 5.53 million unit rate a year
earlier.
The numbers were above the 6.40
million to 6.62 million range of forecasts by analysts polled by Econoday. Their
consensus was for an annual rate of 6.55 million units.
Single-family home sales were also
0.7 percent higher than the previous month at an annual rate of 6.03 million
units compared to 5.99 million in November, an annual gain of 22.8 percent. Condo
and cooperative apartments sold at a rate of 730,000 units, 1.4 percent and
17.7 percent increases over the two earlier periods.
“Home sales rose in December, and
for 2020 as a whole, we saw sales perform at their highest levels since 2006,
despite the pandemic,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “What’s even
better is that this momentum is likely to carry into the new year, with more
buyers expected to enter the market.”
“Although mortgage rates are
projected to increase, they will continue to hover near record lows at around 3
percent,” Yun said. “Moreover, expect economic conditions to improve with
additional stimulus forthcoming and vaccine distribution already underway.”
The median existing-home price for all
housing types in December was $309,800, a 12.9 percent increase from the median
of $274,500 a year earlier and the 106th straight month of annual
appreciation. Prices increased in every region. The median existing
single-family home price was $314,300 in December, a 13.5 percent annual gain,
while condo prices were up 6.9 percent to a median of $272,000.
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