The Houston Chronicle reports that U.S. home sales fell 3.6 percent in December, despite 2017 reporting the highest home sales since 2006.
According to the National Association of Realtors, the seasonally adjusted annual rate in December was 5.57 million units. Overall sales for 2017 saw a slight 1.1 increase over 2016, at 5.51 million. Despite a strengthened economy, homeowners are overwhelmingly choosing to stay in and remodel current homes instead of selling, affecting the lack of available housing for sale.
Just 1.48 million homes were listed for sale at the end of December, a 10.3 percent drop over the past year. There were just 3.2 months' supply of homes on the market, the lowest level since the real estate group began tracking the figure in 1999.
David Berson, economist at Nationwide Insurance, said sales should increase modestly in 2018, but they'll be "held back by a lack of inventory."
