2025 US home sales stuck at 30-year low as mortgage rates, prices weighed on market

The U.S. lodging marketplace slump dragged into its 4th twelvemonth successful 2025 arsenic income remained stuck astatine a 30-year debased with rising location prices and elevated owe rates keeping galore prospective location shoppers retired of the market.

Sales of antecedently occupied U.S. homes totaled 4.06 cardinal past year, level versus 2024, erstwhile income sank to the lowest level since 1995, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. Sales person declined connected yearly ground each twelvemonth since 2022.

The median nationalist location terms for each of past twelvemonth roseate 1.7% to $414,400, the NAR said.

Sales person been stuck astatine astir a 4-million yearly gait present going backmost to 2023. That’s good abbreviated of the 5.2-million yearly gait that’s historically been the norm.

“2025 was different pugnacious twelvemonth for homebuyers, marked by record-high location prices and historically debased location sales,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s main economist. “However, successful the 4th quarter, conditions began improving, with little owe rates and slower location terms growth."

The U.S. lodging marketplace has been successful a income slump dating backmost to 2022, erstwhile owe rates began to ascent from pandemic-era lows. The mean complaint connected a 30-year owe was astir 7% a twelvemonth agone and remained elevated for overmuch of the twelvemonth until precocious summer, erstwhile they began to ease, falling to adjacent to 6% by the extremity of the year, according to Freddie Mac.

That caller pullback successful owe rates helped thrust existing U.S. location income successful December to a seasonally adjusted yearly complaint of 4.35 cardinal units, a 5.1% summation from November and the fastest income gait successful astir 3 years, NAR said.

That topped the 4.14 cardinal income gait economists expected, according to FactSet.

Home prices besides roseate successful December, pushing up the median income to $405,400, a 0.4% summation from December 2024. That's besides an all-time precocious for immoderate erstwhile December and the 30th consecutive period with an yearly summation successful the median income price, NAR said.

Despite little owe rates, affordability remains a situation for galore aspiring homeowners, particularly first-time buyers who don’t person equity from an existing location to enactment toward a caller location purchase. Uncertainty implicit the system and occupation marketplace are besides keeping galore would-be buyers connected the sidelines.