Monthly Housing Indicators
U.S. existing-home sales improved for the second consecutive month, rising 4.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.15 million units, an eight-month high, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Sales were up 6.1% compared to the same time last year, marking the largest year-over-year increase since June 2021. Economists had forecast existing-home sales would come in at an annual rate of 4.07 million units for the month.
New Listings were up 28.4 percent to 470. Pending Sales decreased 22.2 percent to 470. Inventory grew 14.9 percent to 1,585 units.
Prices were stable as Median Sales Price remained flat at $299,950. Days on Market increased 15.0 percent to 69 days. Months Supply of Inventory was up 10.3 percent to 3.2 months, indicating that supply increased relative to demand.
Total housing inventory stood at 1.33 million units heading into December, a 2.9% decrease from the previous month but a 17.7% increase year-over-year, for a 3.8- month supply at the current sales pace. Inventory remains below the 5 – 6 months’ supply of a balanced market, and the limited number of homes for sale continues to put upward pressure on sales prices nationwide, with NAR reporting a median existing-home price of $406,100, a 4.7% increase from one year earlier.
Housing Supply Overview
U.S. sales of new residential homes jumped 5.9% month-over-month and 8.7% year-over-year to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 664,000 units, led by gains in the South and Midwest, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The median new home sales price was $402,600, down 5.4% from the previous month and a 6.3% decrease from the same time last year. There were approximately 490,000 new homes for sale heading into December, for an 8.9-month supply at the current sales pace. For the 12-month period spanning January 2024 through December 2024, Pending Sales in the Western Upstate Association of REALTORS® region was up 3.5 percent overall. The price range with the largest pending sales gain was the $500,001 to $750,000 range, where sales rose 22.4 percent.
The overall Median Sales Price rose 5.2 percent to $303,990. The property type with the largest gain was the Condos segment, where prices improved 10.9 percent to $248,490. The price range that tended to sell the quickest was the $150,000 and Below range at 54 days. The price range that tended to sell the slowest was the $1,000,001 and Above range at 91 days.
Market-wide, inventory levels improved 14.9 percent. The property type with the largest gain was the Condos segment, where the number of properties for sale rose 93.5 percent. That amounts to 3.2 months of inventory for Single-Family Homes and 3.6 months of inventory for Condos
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