Sales of previously owned homes rose in January from the prior month, rebounding modestly after sales last year dropped to their worst level in nearly three decades. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said home sales rose 3.1% from December to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4m, the highest level since March. On an annual basis, they fell 1.7%. “People are taking advantage of the lower interest rates” since October, said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has hovered between 6.6% and 6.8% so far this year, down from a recent high of 7.79% in October, according to Freddie Mac. The national median existing-home price rose 5.1% in January from a year earlier to $379,100, NAR said. Nationally, there were 1.01m homes for sale or under contract at the end of January, up 2% from December and up 3.1% from January 2023, NAR said. At the current sales pace, there was a three-month supply of homes on the market at the end of January.
