Home prices increased on an annual basis for the 19th consecutive month. The national median sales price rose 4.8% in January from a year earlier to $396,900.
There were 1.18 million unsold homes at the end of last month, up 3.5% from December and up 16.8% from January last year, NAR said.
That translates to a 3.5-month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 3.2-month pace in December and a 3-month pace at the end of January last year. Traditionally, a 5- to 6-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.
The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years.