Existing home sales in the U.S. surged by much more than expected in the month of December, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Wednesday.
NAR said existing home sales spiked by 5.1 percent to an annual rate of 4.35 million in December after climbing by 0.7 percent to an upwardly revised rate of 4.14 million in November.
Economists had expected existing home sales to jump by 2.4 percent to an annual rate of 4.23 million in December from the 4.13 million originally reported for the previous month.
“2025 was another tough year for homebuyers, marked by record-high home prices and historically low home sales,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “However, in the fourth quarter, conditions began improving, with lower mortgage rates and slower home price growth.”
“December home sales, after adjusting for seasonal factors, were the strongest in nearly three years,” he added. “The gains were broad-based, with all four major regions improving from the prior month.”
The report also said housing inventory at the end of December totaled 1.18 million units, down 18.1 percent from 1.44 million units in November but up 3.5 percent from 1.14 million units in December 2024.
The unsold inventory represents 3.3 months of supply, down from 4.2 months in November but up from 3.2 months a year ago.
“Inventory levels remain tight,” Yun said. “With fewer sellers feeling eager to move, homeowners are taking their time deciding when to list or delist their homes. Similar to past years, more inventory is expected to come to market beginning in February.”
NAR also said the medium existing home price was $405,400 in December, up 0.4 percent from the same month a year ago, marking the 30th straight month of year-over-year price growth.
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