EXISTING HOME SALES RISE, BUT INVENTORIES HAMPER RESULTS
2021
started with a small surge in existing home sales compared to December 2020 levels, marking the second consecutive monthly gain. According to NAR, transactions on singlefamily homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops surged 0.6% in January 2021 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.69 million units up from 6.76 million units in December 2020. January’s results were up 23.7% compared to the annual rate of 5.41 million sales in the same time last year. Following January existing home report, home sales
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had surged in seven of the previous 8 months, while pending sales, which are considered a leading indicator for the next one or two existing home sales reports, posted losses in four straight months. Single-family home sales were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.93 million, up 0.2% from 5.92 million in December, and a 23% year-over-year gain. On the other hand, condominium and co-op sales surged 4.1% from the previous month to a rate of 760,000 units, representing 28.8% annual growth.
THE POWER IS NOW MAGAZINE | MAY 2021