Sales of second-hand homes in the US fell to their lowest point in nine years in January, while inventories of single-family homes increased and approached record levels again, the National Association of Realtors said today.
Sales dropped 0.4 per cent to an annual rate of 4.89 million units, down slightly from an upwardly revised 4.91 million unit pace in December. The realtors initially reported a 4.89 million unit pace in December, and economists were expecting the pace to fall to 4.84 million units in January.
The 4.89 million unit pace is the lowest the realtors' group has reported since it began tracking this data in 1999.
Home sales in January are down 23.4 per cent compared with January 2007.
Inventories of existing homes, which include both single family homes and condominiums, fell 5.5 per cent in January to 4.2 million units. Inventories are down 18 per cent over the previous year.
At the January sales pace, it would take 10.3 months to exhaust the supply of homes on the market, up from the 9.7 months supply in December. January's inventory number is the highest level of supply since October, when there were a record 10.5 months supply of homes available.
The median price of an existing home fell 4.6 per cent from the year before to $201,100. That's the fourth largest price drop on record, and the other three came in 2007.
By themselves, sales of single-family homes rose 0.5 per cent in January to a 4.34 million unit pace, up from the 4.32 million unit pace in December. The December sales pace was the lowest since 1998.
The median price of a single-family home fell 5.1 per cent to $198,700 in January, which is the lowest price in three years.
Agencies