Thanks to falling borrowing costs and slowing home price growth, existing-home sales in the U.S. surged by 5.1 percent in December compared to the month before.
There were 4.35 million existing-home sales last month — the strongest month in almost three years, according to the National Association of Realtors, whose data has been seasonally adjusted.
All of the regions saw their sales activity rise month over month. On a year-over-year basis, home sales increased nationally by 1.4 percent, with activity rising in the South and holding flat in the Midwest and West.
Meanwhile, the national median sales price inched up just 0.4 percent, compared to the year before, to $405,400. That was the 30th straight month of year-over-year price increases, according to NAR, but growth has been slowing. In November, the median existing home sale price had risen by 1.4 percent. In December 2024, it climbed by 5.8 percent.
Among the country’s main regions, the median price grew at the greatest rate, by 3.7 percent year over year, in the Northeast to reach $496,700. It fell the most in the West, by 1.4 percent over the same time period, to $605,600.
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Last summer, U.S. home prices surged to record highs. Before mortgage rates began to cool, after the Federal Reserve slashed its benchmark interest rate, many buyers were not eager to close deals.
Homebuying conditions are improving, as the average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rate fell to 6.19 percent from 6.72 percent a year prior. But inventory is still tight, with more sellers likely listing properties in February, according to NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun.
“With fewer sellers feeling eager to move, homeowners are taking their time deciding when to list or delist their homes,” he said in a statement.
In another sign of an improving market, pending home sales jumped in November, by 3.3 percent compared to the month before and 2.6 percent year over year, according to additional NAR data.