January Existing Home Sales

January Existing Home Sales
Updated: 12-Feb-26 10:25 ETHighlights

Existing home sales decreased 8.8% month-over-month in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.91 million (Briefing.com consensus 4.21 million) from a downwardly revised 4.27 million (from 4.35 million) in December.
Sales were down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Key Factors

The median existing home sales price for all housing types increased 0.9% year-over-year to $396,800, marking the 31st consecutive month of year-over-year increases and a new high for the month of January. The median price for single-family homes rose 0.6% to $400,300.
Existing home sales month-over-month/year-over-year across regions: Northeast (-5.9%/-4.0%); Midwest (-7.1%/-7.1%); South (-9.0%/-1.6%); and West (-10.3%/-7.9%).
Median home prices by region year-over-year: Northeast (+5.8% to $505,400); Midwest (+2.3% to $295,400); South (+0.1% to $351,200); and West (-1.4% to $600,400).
The inventory of homes for sale at the end of January was 1.22 million units, down 0.8% from December and up 3.4% from a year ago. Unsold inventory sits at a 3.7-month supply at the current sales pace, up from 3.5 months in December and a year ago. This remains below the 6.0-month supply typically associated with a more balanced market.
First-time buyers accounted for 31% of sales, up from 29% in December and 28% a year ago.
The median time on market for properties was 46 days, up from 39 in December and 41 a year ago.
Cash sales accounted for 27% of transactions versus 28% in December and 29% a year ago.

Big Picture

The key takeaway from the report is that the existing home market remains supply constrained. That is pushing up prices and mitigating some of the affordability benefits linked to wage growth and lower mortgage rates.