Sales of Existing U.S. Homes Unexpectedly Fell in January

(Bloomberg) -- Sales of previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly fell in January to a four-month low, indicating a shortage of available properties is increasingly hindering the real-estate industry, a National Association of Realtors report showed Wednesday.

Key Takeaways

Sales growth is limited by an acute shortage of inventory, which is pushing up home prices faster than wage growth. The group noted that property prices have jumped 41 percent over the past five years, while wages have gained 12 percent.

If the current pace of sales continues -- which NAR doesn’t anticipate -- purchases would be lower than in 2017. At the same time, steady hiring and elevated confidence to make large purchases, as well as tax cuts that are boosting Americans’ take-home pay, are expected to sustain demand for housing in much of the nation.

Borrowing costs have risen since the start of the year, also crimping affordability, with the rate on a fixed 30-year mortgage advancing last week to the highest in almost four years. While the tax legislation also limits the deduction for mortgage interest on more expensive homes, signaling demand may cool in areas of the country where the cost of a house is well above the national median, the Realtors group said there’s little evidence yet that it’s having an impact.

Official’s View

“It’s the inventory situation that pops out” as the main culprit for the slowdown, Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said at a press briefing accompanying the report. “The interest is there, but they just cannot close the deal because of the lack of inventory.”

First-time buyers are “struggling to get in,” Yun said. “There’s no letup in home prices.”

Other Details

• Purchases fell in all four regions, led by a 6 percent decline in the Midwest; sales dropped 5 percent in the West and 1.3 percent in the South
• At the current pace, it would take 3.4 months to sell the homes on the market, compared with 3.2 months in December and 3.6 months in January 2017; Realtors group considers a normal market at six to seven months’ supply
• Single-family home sales fell 3.8 percent to annual rate of 4.76 million, lowest since July 2016
• Purchases of condominium and co-op units rose 1.6 percent to 620,000 pace
• First-time buyers made up 29 percent of all sales, compared with 33 percent a year earlier
• Homes typically sold in 42 days, down from 50 days a year earlier
• 43 percent of homes sold in January were on market for less than a month
• Existing home sales account for 90 percent of the market and are calculated when a contract closes. New home sales, considered a timelier indicator though their share is only about 10 percent, are tabulated when contracts get signed

--With assistance from Chris Middleton

To contact the reporter on this story: Shobhana Chandra in Washington at schandra1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Scott Lanman at slanman@bloomberg.net, Vince Golle

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