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NAFCU economist: Existing-home sales will rebound
Existing-home sales decreased 1.2 percent in January. Despite this decline, NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long said he expects the market to rebound in the coming months.
"[Existing-home sales] fell again in January, but look poised to rebound soon, according to data from the National Association of Realtors," said Long in a Macro Data Flash report. "The data from the NAR measure completed sales, so the drop in mortgage rates in December and January will likely begin to show up in February sales figures."
Sales fell in three of the four regions during January: the West declined 2.9 percent, followed by the Midwest (-2.5 percent) and the South (-1 percent). Sales in the Northeast climbed 2.9 percent from a month prior.
Based on current sales, there were 3.9 months of supply at the end of January, up from 3.7 months in December. Analysts consider 6 months of supply to be roughly balanced between supply and demand.
The median existing-home price decreased from $254,700 in December to $247,500 in January (not seasonally adjusted). That amount represents a 2.8 percent increase from the median price a year ago.