February 22, 2024
More people were buying homes in January and the amount of inventory on the market is starting to increase again. That’s all good news.
But – home prices also increased for the seventh month in a row. And if you’re a home buyer – that’s not so good news.
The National Association of Realtors released its existing home sales report for January today. It found completed transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condos and co-ops increased 3.1% since December but when you compare it to last year, sales dropped 1.7%. As for the available existing home inventory – the report found – it was up 2% from December and 3.1% from last January.
But – the median existing home price for all housing types in January was $379,100. That’s 5.1% higher than January of last year. Of course, the price you pay depends on where you are trying to buy.
The report found all four US regions saw price increases in January of 2024.
The most expensive existing home prices were in the west where the median price was $572,100 – up 6.3% from January 2023.
The second most expensive existing home prices were in the northeast where the median price was $434,300 up 10.1% from last year.
The third most expensive existing home was in the south where the median price was $345,100. That’s up 4.1% from last year.
And the least expensive region was the Midwest where the median existing home was $271,700 that’s up 7.6% from last year.
Read the report from the National Association of Realtors for January here.
