Existing home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly showed a sharp increase in the month of January, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Friday.
NAR said existing home sales spiked 6.7 percent to an annual rate of 6.50 million in January after tumbling 3.8 percent to a revised rate of 6.09 million in December.
The substantial rebound surprised economists, who had expected existing home sales to slump by 1.3 percent to a rate of 6.10 million from the 6.18 million originally reported for the previous month.
With the unexpected jump, existing home sales reached their highest annual rate since hitting 6.65 million in January of 2021.
“Buyers were likely anticipating further rate increases and locking-in at the low rates, and investors added to overall demand with all-cash offers,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Consequently, housing prices continue to move solidly higher.”
NAR said the median existing-home price for all housing types in January was $350,300, down 1.2 percent from $354,600 in December but up 15.4 percent from $303,600 in the same month a year ago.
The report also housing inventory at the end of January totaled 860,000 units, down 2.3 percent from 880,000 in December and down 16.5 percent from 1.03 million in January of 2021.
The unsold inventory represents 1.6 months of supply at the current sales price, down from 1.7 months in December and from 1.9 months a year ago.
“The inventory of homes on the market remains woefully depleted, and in fact, is currently at an all-time low,” Yun said.
Next Thursday, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release a separate report on new home sales in the month of January.
Economists currently expect new home sales to drop by 1.0 percent to an annual rate of 803,000 in January after spiking by 11.9 percent to a rate of 811,000 in December.
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