Despite a slight dimming in December, existing-home sales for the 2017 year were at a record not seen in 11 years, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).
Existing-home sales in December totaled 5.57 million, a 3.6 percent decrease from November, but a 1.1 percent increase from 2016. Inventory decreased 11.4 percent to 1.48 million, 10.3 percent lower than the previous year. Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR, attributes these impressive statistics to steady job growth, which sparked new buyers. However, he also made the point that new listings, particularly later in the year, did not keep up with the buyers’ demand. If the number of homes available for purchase had stayed on pace with the number of new buyers, the end of 2018 would have finished on an even stronger note.
Nevertheless, 2017 was an outstanding year for home sales. According to Joseph Kirchner, senior economist for realtor.com, strong employment and millennial buyers were credited for the increase in sales. Like Yun, he acknowledges the lagging supply in December as the main culprit for the dimming sales at year’s end.
The median existing-home price for all types of houses (single-family, condo, co-op and townhome) was $246,800, a 5.8 percent increase from one year prior. The median price for an existing single-family home was $248,100, while the median price for an existing condo was $236,500.
Single-family existing-home sales came in at 4.96 million in December, a 2.6 percent decrease from 5.09 million in November, but a 1.0 percent increase from 4.91 million in 2016. Existing-condo and -co-op sales came in at 610,000, an 11.6 percent decrease from November and a 1.7 percent increase from one year prior.
There are some positive indicators that 2018 could be another fantastic year. Pending home sales were up slightly in December according to the NAR and our country continues to experience job stability and a low unemployment rate. At Robinson Sotheby’s International Realty, we just had our best January since 2011.
Adapted from “Existing-Home Sales: A Dim End to a Bright Year,” by RISMedia Staff