What a week for home sales data! New Home Sales spiked 7.9%, to a 764,000 annual rate in January, the hottest sales pace since 2007. Single-family home sales are now a healthy 18.6% higher than a year ago.
For existing homes, the National Association of Realtors index of Pending Home Sales rose 5.2% in January, “due to the good economic backdrop and exceptionally low mortgage rates,” according to their chief economist.
Yet price gains continue to slow. The FHFA price index for homes bought with conforming mortgages is up 5.1% annually, down from 5.9% a year ago, and the Case-Shiller price index is up only 3.8% from a year ago.
