Sales of existing homes–including single-family, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops– declined 7.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 million units in January compared with 5.44 million units in December, according to NAR’s latest sales and price report. Sales remain 11.5 percent higher than the 4.53 million-unit level in January 2009, according to NAR. The national median home price for existing housing remained unchanged from a year earlier at $164,700.
“Most of the completed deals in January were based on contracts in November and December,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “People who got into the market after the home buyer tax credit was extended in November have only recently started to offer contracts, so it will take a couple [of] months to close those sales.”
Existing-home sales in the West, which includes California, declined 5.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.28 million units in January, but are 7.6 percent higher than January 2009. The median price in the West was $203,400, down 5.8 percent from a year ago.
