Home resales down 3.6% in December

WASHINGTON — U.S. home sales slid 3.6 percent in December, as rising prices and a declining number of available properties stifled purchases.

The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that sales of existing homes fell last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million units. Despite the monthly setback, sales totaled 5.51 million in 2017. That was the highest level since 2006, yet it marked a slight 1.1 percent gain from 2016 as the supply of properties on the market fell to the lowest level ever recorded by the Realtors.

The strengthening U.S. economy helped lift home sales last year, but homeowners are choosing not to list their properties despite the rising prices and relatively low mortgage rates. The lack of homes for sale speaks to the lingering aftershocks from the 2007 housing crisis. After a wave of mortgage defaults and foreclosures, investors bought many properties and turned them into rentals. Meanwhile, homeowners are choosing to build equity rather than upgrade to another house.

David Berson, chief economist at Nationwide Insurance, said sales should increase modestly in 2018, but they’ll be “held back by a lack of inventory.”

Just 1.48 million homes were listed for sale at the end of December, a 10.3 percent drop over the past year. There were just 3.2 months’ supply of homes on the market, the lowest level since the Realtors began tracking the figure in 1999.