“For Sale” and “Sale Pending” signs in the West Seattle neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, US, on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. The National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release existing homes sales figures on June 21.Â
David Ryder | Bloomberg | Getty Images
High mortgage rates and elevated home prices combined to crush home sales in January.
Pending sales, which are based on signed contracts for existing homes, dropped 4.6% from December to the lowest level since the National Association of Realtors began tracking this metric in 2001. Sales were down 5.2% from January 2024. These sales are an indicator of future closings.
“It is unclear if the coldest January in 25 years contributed to fewer buyers in the market, and if so, expect greater sales activity in upcoming months,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “However, it’s evident that elevated home prices and higher mortgage rates strained affordability.”
While weather…
