U.S. existing-home sales unexpectedly rise in January

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced on Friday that the U.S. existing home sales rose 0.6 percent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted rate of 6.69 million in January 2021 from 6.65 million in December 2020.

Economists had forecast home resales decreasing to a 6.61 million-unit pace last month.

In y-o-y terms, existing-home sales surged 23.7 percent in January

According to the report, two of the four major regions recorded m-o-m gains in existing-home sales in January but all four regions rose at double-digit rates from one year ago. The median existing-home price for all housing types in January was $303,900, up 14.1 percent from January 2020. Single-family home sales stood at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.93 million in January, up 0.2 percent from December and up 23.0 percent from one year ago. The median existing single-family home price was $308,300 in January, up 14.8 percent from January 2020. Meanwhile, existing condominium and co-op sales were recorded at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 760,000 units in January, up 4.1 percent from December and up 28.8 percent from one year ago. The median existing condo price was $269,600 in January, an advance of 8.6 percent from a year ago.

"Home sales continue to ascend in the first month of the year, as buyers quickly snatched up virtually every new listing coming on the market," noted Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. "Sales easily could have been even 20% higher if there had been more inventory and more choices," he added.