Ted Shaffrey/AP Photo
- The housing market could be close to bottoming as existing home sales are continuing to fall, National Association of Realtors said.
- Monthly existing home sales slipped another 0.7% in January, bringing sales to their lowest level since 2010.
- "Homes sitting on the market for more than 60 days can be purchased for around 10% less than the original list price."
The US housing market could be close to bottoming out, as existing home sales have the lowest level since 2010, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.
Monthly existing home sales slipped 0.7% in January to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4 million units a year, the organization said in a note on Tuesday. That notches the measure's 12th straight month of declines, with existing home sales having plummeted 36.9% over 2022.
The latest drop brings existing home sales to their lowest level since October 2010, when housing activity was still reeling from the mortgage crisis of 2008.
"Home sales are bottoming out," NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement, adding that buyers were also starting to gain more purchasing power and potentially benefit from lower home prices. "Homes sitting on the market for more than 60 days can be purchased for around 10% less than the original list price," he added.
For now, prices remain above year-ago levels. The median existing-home price for all housing types in January was $359,000, an increase of 1.3% from the same month in 2022.
Meanwhile, other market commentators have warned the US housing market is on the verge of a crash akin 2008. Mortgage rates topped 7% last year before cooling off amid Fed rate hikes.
Markets are ramping up expectations for more Fed tightening, sending 10-year bond yields and mortgage rates higher again.