A “for sale” sign on a house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, Friday August 16, 2024.
Joe Lamberti | Bloomberg | Getty images
The US housing market continues to weaken, as potential buyers are faced with stubborn mortgage rates, at high prices and the limited lists.
Sales of previously owned houses fell 4.9% in January from the previous month to 4.08 million units on a seasonal and annualized, according to the National Association of Realtors. Analysts expected a drop of 2.6%.
Sales were 2% greater than January 2024, but still operate at a hollow of about 15 years.
This reading is based on closures, so contracts probably signed in November and December when mortgage rates went from more than 7% to the fork of 6%.
“The mortgage rates have refused to move for several months despite several cycles of short -term interest rate reduction by the federal reserve,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the NAR. “When combined with high prices of houses, the affordability of the accommodation remains a major challenge.”
There were 1.18 million houses for sale at the end of January, an increase of 3.5% compared to December and 17% from January 2024. Although the inventory was won, it is always a offer of 3.5 months at the current sale rate. A six -month supply is considered balanced between the buyer and the seller.
The average house to sell last month spent 41 days on the market. It is the longest since January 2020, pre-cook.
The tight offer continues to put pressure on prices. The median price of a house sold in January was $ 396,900, up 4.8% compared to the previous year and the highest price for the month of January. The four regions followed by NAR have seen price gains. About 15% of houses sold above the price of the list, practically unchanged by 16% during the permeable month and the annual period.
“A larger housing offer allows highly qualified buyers to enter the market,” added Yun. “But for many consumers, an increase in stocks and lower mortgage rates are necessary to buy a different house or become owners for the first time.”
All-Cash Offer represented 29% of sales, which is historically high but down 32% the previous year. The first buyers are still in difficulty, representing 28% of sales. This share is unchanged from a year ago, but is below the historical averages of around 40%.
House sales are developing considerably better at higher prices and down at lower prices. For example, sales of housing between $ 100,000 and $ 250,000 dropped by 1.2% from one year to the next, while houses at the price of more than a million dollars increased by almost 27% compared to the previous year.
Real estate agents report that buyers’ traffic in January was low.
“Real estate agents put more scripts, but buyers do not come,” said Yun.