Existing Home Sales Dropped in January 2018

Existing homes sales in January 2018 saw the largest annual decline since August 2014. Sales fell 3.2 percent from December, and 4.8 percent from January 2017.

“A second month in a row of lackluster existing home sales is not an ideal way to begin 2018,” wrote Aaron Terrazas, an economist at Zillow. “Low inventory also continues to weigh on the market, and shows precious few signs of easing...There simply needs to be more inventory available to buy.” Curbed reports that the West and Midwest single-family markets were hit hardest by the decline.

The low sales also continue to push home prices higher. The median price for homes in the U.S. in January was $240,500, 5.8 percent higher than the same time a year ago and the 71st straight month of year-over-year gains in home prices. These trends have been going on for some time now and there just doesn’t seem to be much relief in sight. People aren’t selling their homes because competition for scoring another one would be intense, and they’d likely only make a lateral move at best.

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