Existing-home sales reach six-month high

Existing-home sales woke up from their recent sleepiness to reach their highest rate in six months in January, with only the West experiencing declines.

According to the National Association of Realtors price growth also reached its fastest increase since last April due to subpar supply levels.

Total existing-home sales rose 0.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.47 million in January compared to a downwardly revised 5.45 million in December. That's also an 11.0% improvement over last year.

Single-family home sales were up 1.0% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.86 million in January from 4.81 million in December.

"The housing market has shown promising resilience in recent months, but home prices are still rising too fast because of ongoing supply constraints," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. "Despite the global economic slowdown, the housing sector continues to recover and will likely help the U.S. economy avoid a recession."

The median existing-home price in January was $213,800, up 8.2% from January 2015. For single-family homes, that number was $215,000, up 8.3%.

Total housing inventory at the end of January increased 3.4% to 1.82 million existing homes available for sale, but is still 2.2% lower than a year ago.

"The spring buying season is right around the corner and current supply levels aren't even close to what's needed to accommodate the subsequent growth in housing demand," said Yun. "Home prices ascending near or above double-digit appreciation aren't healthy – especially considering the fact that household income and wages are barely rising." 

Regionally, there were increases across the board except for in the West, where sales decreased 4.1%. The Midwest saw the bulk of the progress, rising 4.0%.