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The numbers: U.S. existing home sales inched up 0.6% to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6.69 million, the National Association of Realtors said Friday. Compared with a year ago, home sales were up 23.7%.
Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast that existing home sales would fall to a median rate of 6.66 million.
What happened: The median existing-home price rose to $303,900 in January, up 14.1% from a year ago.
The inventory of homes for sale fell to a record low 1.04 million units by the end of January. That’s a 25.7% decline year-over-year. The market had a 1.9-month supply of homes for sales. A 6-month supply is considered a sign of a balanced market.
Big picture: Economists think that low mortgage rates will continue to boost housing demand in coming months. Buyers are also looking for more room and more remote locations in the wake of the pandemic.
What the NAR said: “Home sales continue to ascend in the first month of the year, as buyers quickly snatched up virtually every new listing coming on the market. Sales easily could have been even 20% higher if there had been more inventory and more choices,” said said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.
Market reaction: U.S. stocks opened higher Friday with the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.38% up 10.9 points after declining in the past three trading sessions.
