Here are the highlights from a post January 24, 2018 by the National Association of Realtors:
- Previously owned home sales hit 5.51 million in 2017, the best year for sales since 6.48 million in 2006.
- At the current sales pace, the stock of homes on the market would be gone in 3.2 months, which the NAR says is the lowest inventory since it began tracking these data in 1999.
- The median sale price for an existing home in December 2017 was $246,800, up 5.8% from a year earlier.
- Several factors are converging to buttress home buying: a 17 year low on the unemployment rate, household confidence is elevated, and borrowing costs remain low by historical standards.