Existing home sales in January 2015 totaled 282,000 versus 281,000 a year ago according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). NAR’s pending home sale index, however, showed an 8.4 percent increase in January 2015 compared to a year ago, indicating a good trajectory for the 2015 in US home sales at this time despite a lackluster month for closings.
On a seasonally-adjusted annualized rate (SAAR), January 2015 home sales tallied 4.82 million, up 3.2 percent from a year ago. Sequentially from December, however, sales dropped 4.9 percent on a SAAR. Median home price at $199,600 was up 6.2 percent from January 2014.
The following graph shows both the sales and median price trends of housing since 2002 (prior to the massive increase in subprime lending and the creation and bursting of the real estate bubble).
Other details included in the press release:
- Distressed sales made up just 11 percent of all transactions in January 2015 compared to 15 percent a year ago. These include both foreclosures and short sales.
- Foreclosures tallied just 8 percent of all homes sales (one in every 12) and were discounted in the market price wise by 15 percent when compared to non-distressed properties
- Short sales made up 3 percent of all transactions with a corresponding price discount of 12 percent when compared to non-distressed properties.
- Investors bought 17 percent of all homes closed in January 2015 (one out of every six sales), down from 20 percent a year ago (one out of every five sales).
- Buyers paid all-cash for the transaction in 27 percent of the sales in January 2015 compared to 33 percent a year ago. Two thirds of the time (67 percent) investors paid all-cash.
- Three out of every 10 sales (30 percent) that took place in January 2015 were on the market less than one month. Short sales were on the market the longest at a median 128 days, foreclosures at a median 63 days and non-distressed properties at 68 days.
- Single family sales in January 2015 were up 3.9 percent from a year ago on a SAAR, while condos were down 1.8 percent in the same period.
To read the entire press release from NAR click http://www.realtor.org:8119/news-releases/2015/02/existing-home-sales-cool-in-january-as-available-inventory-remains-subdued
January is historically the lowest sales month for the U.S. as a whole. The promising increase, however, in pending sales in the same month points to a better 2015 than a year ago.
Strong job growth and the highly-favorable current interest rates point to a more appealing 2015.
Ted