US Existing Home Sales Disappoint As Price Hits Record High For January

US existing home sales disappointed in January jumping 3.1% MoM (vs +4.9% MoM exp). Quite a different picture from the non-seasonally-adjusted rise of just 0.3%...

Source: Bloomberg

This January rise dragged the YoY decline up to just -1.7%...

Source: Bloomberg

“While home sales remain sizably lower than a couple of years ago, January’s monthly gain is the start of more supply and demand,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

The median home price reached an all-time high for the month of January...

"Multiple offers are common on mid-priced homes, and many homes were still sold within a month. The elevated share of cash deals – 32% – indicated a market full of multiple offers and propelled by record-high housing wealth," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

Additionally, properties typically remained on the market for 37 days in January, up from 29 days in December and 33 days in January 2023.

So who's buying homes?

Well, you know the answer to that - even more institutional buyers as first-time homebuyers priced out

• First-time buyers were responsible for 28% of sales in January, down from 29% in December and 31% in January 2023.

• All-cash sales accounted for 32% of transactions in January, up from 29% in both December and one year ago.

 As a reminder, mortgage rates started off the year below 7% and have risen since...

Source: Bloomberg

So don't expect this renaissance to continue.