{"id":20096,"date":"2022-02-22T13:52:58","date_gmt":"2022-02-22T13:52:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/?p=20096"},"modified":"2022-02-22T13:53:00","modified_gmt":"2022-02-22T13:53:00","slug":"sales-surged-in-january","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/sales-surged-in-january\/","title":{"rendered":"Sales Surged in January"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sales Surged in January<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home buyers appeared in a rush to lock in mortgage rates ahead of further increases and to take advantage of any housing inventory they could find last month. Existing-home sales climbed 6.7% in January compared to the prior month, led by the strongest gains in the Southern region of the U.S., according to the National Association of REALTORS\u00ae\u2019 latest existing-home sales report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sales rose even as housing inventories fell to an all-time low and home prices increased at a much swifter pace, NAR reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Existing-home sales\u2014completed transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops\u2014increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.50 million in January. Sales, however, are down 2.3% compared to a year ago, NAR reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBuyers were likely anticipating further rate increases and locking-in at the low rates, and investors added to overall demand with all-cash offers,\u201d says Lawrence Yun, NAR\u2019s chief economist. \u201cConsequently, housing prices continue to move solidly higher.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, \u201cthe inventories of homes on the market remains woefully depleted, and in fact, is currently at an all-time low,\u201d Yun adds. Homes priced at $500,000 and below are vanishing from the market. Supply is rising at the higher price ranges. \u201cThere are more listings at the upper end\u2014homes priced above $500,000\u2014compared to a year ago, which should lead to less hurried decisions by some buyers,\u201d Yun adds. \u201cClearly, more supply is needed at the lower end of the market in order to achieve more equitable distribution of housing wealth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 Key Housing Indicators<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a closer look at how existing-home sales performed in January, according to NAR\u2019s latest report:<\/p>\n\n\n\n