Existing-Home Sales Fell Steadily Throughout 2022 and Into December

NAR released a summary of existing-home sales data showing that housing market activity this December declined 1.5% from November 2022. December’s existing-home sales reached a 4.02 million seasonally adjusted annual rate. December’s sales of existing homes weakened by 34.0% from December 2021, marking eleven consecutive months of home sales declines. December’s annual figure of 5.03 was the lowest since 2014 when the sales pace was at 4.94 million.

• The national median existing-home price for all housing types reached $366,900 in December, up 2.3% from a year ago. Home prices have continued to climb, marking the 130th consecutive month of year-over-year gains. The annual median price for 2022 was $386,300, up %10.2 from a year ago.

• Regionally, in December, three of the four regions showed price growth from a year ago. The West region was flat. The South had the most significant gain of 3.5%, followed by the Midwest, with an increase of 2.9%. The Northeast region had the smallest price gain of 1.6% from December 2021.
• December’s inventory of unsold listings as of the end of the month fell 13.4% from last month, standing at 970,000 homes for sale. Compared with December of 2021, inventory levels were up 10.2%. It will take 2.9 months to move the current inventory level at the current sales pace, well below the desired pace of 6 months.
• Higher mortgage rates and a lack of inventory have contributed to fewer options for home buyers. It takes approximately 26 days for a home to go from listing to a contract in the current housing market. A year ago, it took 19 days.

• From a year ago, all four regions had double-digit declines in sales in December. The West had the biggest dip of 43.4%, followed by the South, which fell 33.1%. The Midwest decreased by 30.3%, followed by the Northeast, down by 28.8%.   
• Compared to November 2022, three of the four showed reductions in sales. The West region was flat with no change in sales. The South had the largest decline of 2.2%, followed by the Northeast, with a decrease of 1.9%. The Midwest region had the smallest dip in sales at 1.0%.  
• The South led all regions in percentage of national sales, accounting for 44.8% of the total, while the Northeast had the smallest share at 12.9%.

• In December, single-family sales decreased by 1.1%, and condominium sales fell by 4.5% compared to last month. Single-family home sales were 33.5%, while condominium sales fell 38.2% compared to a year ago. The median sales price of single-family homes rose to 2.0% at $372,700 from December 2021, while the median sales price of condominiums rose 3.3% at $317,200.