Overview
- Existing-home sales rose 5.1% in December to a 4.35 million annual pace, the strongest since early 2023, with the median price up 0.4% year over year to $405,400.
- Inventory of existing homes ended December at 1.18 million, equal to 3.3 months’ supply, down from November but 3.5% higher than a year earlier.
- For 2025, existing-home sales totaled about 4.06 million, hovering near a 30-year low and roughly matching 2024’s depressed level.
- Delayed Census/HUD data show October new single‑family sales at a 737,000 annual rate (−0.1% month over month, +18.7% year over year), with the median new-home price down 8% to $392,300 and supply steady at 488,000 units, or 7.9 months.
- Builders leaned on incentives and price cuts to move elevated stock, with regional divergence persisting as the South led new-home activity (about 513,000 in October) while the West weakened; mortgage rates around 6.2% followed President Trump’s directive for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy up to $200 billion in mortgage bonds, a move analysts see as having a modest impact.