December Existing Home Sales: Saving the Best for Last

• Existing home sales were up 3.6% from November and 10.8% from a year ago, to 5.54 million (SAAR), according to the National Association of Realtors -- the highest level of 2019.
• The median existing-home price in December was $274,500, up 7.8% from December 2018.
• Inventory was down 14.6% from November and 8.5% from a year ago.

December existing home sales capped off a steady end to 2019 with their best reading of the year, strong data that speaks to both the enduring demand for homes and the historic shortage of for-sale inventory on the market. Given the way 2018 ended -- in the midst of a government shutdown, a struggling stock market and a spike in mortgage interest rates -- December 2019 was likely always going to represent a good bet for an easy beat. Still, the strength of December's data is notable on its own, encouraging news for a housing market that seems poised for a breakthrough in 2020 and a sign buyers are largely shrugging off a woeful lack of inventory, at least for now. And with a still-firm labor market and mortgage rates looking to remain near long-term lows for the near future, would-be buyers are likely to stay optimistic. But with the inventory situation showing few indications of improving, and prices seemingly on the way up again, the pendulum -- which had begun to swing oh-so-slightly in buyers favor over the past year -- looks to be squarely on sellers' side now.