Having rebounded 3.6 percent in December, the seasonally adjusted pace of existing-home sales across the U.S. slipped 1.3 percent in January to an annual rate of 5.46 million sales, according to the National Association of Realtors. That being said, the current pace of sales is still 9.6 percent higher than at the start of 2019, but that’s down from a pace which was 10.8 percent higher on a year-over-year basis at the end of last year.
In terms of inventory levels, while the number of existing homes on the market across the nation ticked up 2.2 percent in January to 1.42 million homes, that’s 10.7 percent fewer homes on the market than at the same time last year and the lowest January inventory level since 1999 (versus a 7-year high in San Francisco).
And out West, while the pace of existing-home sales dropped 9.4 percent in January to an annual rate of 1.06 million sales, the current pace is still 8.2 percent higher than at the same time last year (which is down from 10.7 percent higher on a year-over-year basis the month before).