Existing Home Sales Rise 3.3% to 5.69M Rate in Jan.

Existing home sales grew 3.3% to a seasonally adjusted 5.69 million-unit rate in December from an upwardly revised 5.51 million sales pace the previous month, initially reported as 5.49 million, the National Association of Realtors announced Wednesday.

The January rate represents a 3.8% increase from the same month a year ago, and was above the median 5.55 million unit pace predicted by economists polled by Thomson Reuters.

The pace is the highest since 5.79 million sales in February 2007.

"Much of the country saw robust sales activity last month as strong hiring and improved consumer confidence at the end of last year appear to have sparked considerable interest in buying a home," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. "Market challenges remain, but the housing market is off to a prosperous start as homebuyers staved off inventory levels that are far from adequate and deteriorating affordability conditions."

Sales in the regions were mostly higher in January. They were up 5.3% in the Northeast, 3.6% in the South, 6.6% in the West, but off 1.5% in the Midwest.

The median sales price was $228,900 in January, a 7.1% increase from a year ago.

Inventory levels grew 2.48% from the previous month to 1.69 million existing homes, representing a 3.6-month supply at the current pace. Inventory was down 7.1% from the January 2016 level.

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