Sales of existing homes in 2025 will exceed 2024 levels by 1,000 homes

Sales of existing homes ended with an increase in 2025, according to figures from the American newspaper The Guardian the December market report from the National Association of Realtors. However, it was not enough to raise sales above 2024 levels.

Existing home sales rose 5.1 percent month-on-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.35 million. Sales also rose year-over-year (+1.4 percent), with logging in the South posting year-over-year gains, the Midwest and West flat, and the Northeast declining slightly.

“2025 was another tough year for homebuyers, marked by record high home prices and historically low home sales,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in the report. “However, conditions started to improve in the fourth quarter, with lower mortgage rates and slower house price growth.

“December home sales were the strongest in almost three years, after adjusting for seasonal factors. The gains were broad-based, with all four major regions showing an improvement from the previous month.”

After significant gains earlier this year, inventory levels fell in December, falling 18.1 percent to 1.18 million units – or 3.3 months’ supply at the current sales pace.

“Inventory levels remain tight,” Yun said. “With fewer sellers eager to move, homeowners are taking their time deciding when to put or remove their homes. As in recent years, more inventory is expected to come onto the market beginning in February.”

Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale said the December sales increase wasn’t enough to get ahead of 2024 sales, with the year falling just a razor’s edge short.

Danielle Hale | Credit: Realtor.com

“In 2025, 4,061 million homes were sold, compared to a total of 4,062 million in 2024,” she said in an emailed statement. “This means that 2025 is now the lowest annual total since 1995, but by a very small margin: a difference of 1,000 home sales.”

Still, Hale has a cautiously optimistic outlook for 2026, as mortgage rates and average house price growth (+0.4 percent) remain at the lower end of the spectrum.

“Homebuyers in December, who likely would have gone into contract in October and November, took advantage of interest rates near their lowest levels in a year, and fortunately mortgage rates have not risen since,” she said. “Mortgage rates have no shortage of potential drivers, from recently announced MBS purchasing programs to macro factors such as employment and inflation.”

“So far, these factors have largely been offset, leaving interest rates stable to slightly lower[. That’s] good news for homebuyers, and a trend I expect to continue into 2026. This should help put sales on a firmer footing in the coming year.”

Email Marian McPherson