U.S. existing-home sales advanced for the third straight month, climbing 2.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.24 million units, a 10-month high, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Sales were up 9.3% year-over-year, driven largely by purchases of homes priced $500,000 and above. Month-over-month, sales rose in the South, Northeast, and the West but fell in the Midwest, with all four regions reporting year-over-year gains.
New Listings in the Chattanooga region increased 18.8 percent to 1,214. Pending Sales increased 2.5 percent to 788. Inventory increased 34.5 percent to 2,743.
Median Sales Price increased 3.1 percent from $319,950 to $330,000. Days on Market increased 24.4 percent to 56. Months Supply of Inventory increased 33.3 percent to 3.2.
According to NAR, total housing inventory was 1.15 million units heading into January, a 13.5% decrease from the previous month but a 16.2% increase from the same period one year earlier, for a 3.3-month supply at the current sales pace. Housing supply remains down compared to prepandemic levels, and the limited number of homes on the market continues to push sales prices higher nationwide, with the median existing-home price rising 6% year-over-year to $404,400.