US existing home sales accelerate in December

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WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - U.S. existing location income accelerated successful December, boosted by little owe rates and dilatory maturation successful ​house prices.

Home income jumped 5.1% past period to a ‌seasonally-adjusted yearly complaint of 4.35 cardinal units, the National Association of Realtors said connected ‌Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast location resales would emergence to a complaint of 4.21 cardinal units. Home income accrued 1.4% connected a year-over-year basis.

"In the 4th quarter, conditions began improving, with little owe ⁠rates and slower location ‌price growth," Lawrence Yun, the NAR's main economist, said successful a statement. "Inventory levels stay tight, with less sellers ‍feeling anxious to move, homeowners are taking their clip deciding erstwhile to database oregon delist their homes."

Mortgage rates dropped successful 2025 though they stay considerably ​higher than they were 3 years ago. President Donald Trump past ‌week ordered the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees owe concern giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to acquisition $200 cardinal of bonds issued by the 2 companies successful a bid to bring down owe rates.

Analysts expect the owe purchases to person a humble impact. Mortgage ⁠rates, which way the benchmark 10-year ​Treasury yield, stay elevated.

The inventory of existing ​homes roseate 3.5% from a twelvemonth agone to 1.18 cardinal units successful December. At December's income pace, it would ‍take 3.3 months ⁠to exhaust the existent inventory of existing homes, up from 3.2 months a twelvemonth ago.

The median existing location terms past ⁠month accrued 0.4% from a twelvemonth agone to $405,400. Trump besides has projected banning organization ‌investors from buying single-family homes to amended affordability.

(Reporting by ‌Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)

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