Existing-home sales decline as price appreciation continues

Total existing-home sales – including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – declined 2.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.56 million units in January from an upwardly revised pace of 6.75 million in December. Sales were 5.2 percent below the 6.92 million-unit level of January 2005.

NAR President Thomas M. Stevens said in a news release that home prices continue to show the long-term effects of tight supply.

“Although housing inventory levels have been improving, it is far from being a buyer’s market in most of the country and we see the momentum of double-digit appreciation being sustained in home prices,” he added. “Even when home sales slow, they still supply solid returns. The longer you own, the bigger the gain.”

Total housing inventory levels rose 2.4 percent at the end of January to 2.91 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 5.3-month supply at the current sales pace.

Single-family home sales dipped 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.77 million in January from an upwardly revised 5.86 million in December, and were 4.8 percent lower than the 6.06 million-unit pace in January.

Existing condominium and cooperative housing sales declined 10.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 791,000 units in January from an upwardly revised level of 885,000 in December. Last month’s sales activity was 7.8 percent below the 858,000-unit pace in January 2005. The median existing condo price was $216,900 in January, up 5.5 percent from a year ago.

In the Midwest, existing-home sales dropped 7.7 percent to an annual pace of 1.44 million in January, and were 3.4 percent below a year earlier. The median price in the Midwest was $167,000, up 12.1 percent from January 2005.

Existing-home sales for February will be released March 23.