US homes sales fell sharply in January, even as mortgage rates continued to ease

Sales of previously occupied US homes fell sharply in January as higher home prices and possibly harsh winter weather kept many prospective homebuyers on the sidelines despite easing mortgage rates.

Existing home sales sank 8.4% in the last month from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.91 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday (February 12). Sales fell 4.4% compared with January last year. The latest sales figure fell short of the 4.105 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.

Home sales slowed sharply across the Northeast, Midwest, South and West. “The decrease in sales is disappointing,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “The below-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation this January make it harder than usual to assess the underlying driver of the decrease and determine if this month’s numbers are an aberration.”

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Despite the sharp drop in sales, home prices continued to climb last month. The national median sales price increased 0.9% in January from a year earlier to $396,800. Home prices have risen on an annual basis for 31 months in a row.

The US housing market has been in a sales slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. The combination of higher mortgage rates, years of skyrocketing home prices and a chronic shortage of homes nationally following more than a decade of below-average home construction has left many aspiring homeowners priced out of the market. Sales of previously occupied US homes remained stuck last year at 30-year lows.

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