Washington, D.C., Feb. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Existing-home sales decreased by 8.4% in January, according to the National Association of REALTORS® Existing-Home Sales report. The report provides the real estate ecosystem—including agents, homebuyers and sellers—with data on the level of home sales, price, and inventory.
Month-over-month and year-over-year sales fell in all regions.
“The decrease in sales is disappointing. The below-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation this January make it harder than usual to assess the underlying driver of the decrease and determine if this month’s numbers are an aberration,” said NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun. “Affordability conditions are improving, with NAR’s Housing Affordability Index showing that housing is the most affordable it’s been since March 2022. This is due to wage gains outpacing home price growth and mortgage rates being lower than a year ago. However, supply has not kept pace and remains quite low.”
“Due to low supply, the median home price reached a new high for the month of January,” Yun added. “Homeowners are in a financially comfortable position as a result. Since January 2020, a typical homeowner would have accumulated $130,500 in housing wealth.”
Affordability improved for the seventh consecutive month, according to NAR’s Housing Affordability Index—increasing to 116.5 in January from 111.6 in December and 102 a year ago.
National Snapshot
Total Existing-Home Sales for January
- 8.4% decrease in existing-home sales[1] month over month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.91 million.
- 4.4% decrease in sales year over year.
Inventory in January
- 1.22 million units: Total housing inventory[2], down 0.8% from December and up 3.4% from January 2025 (1.18 million).
- 3.7-month supply of unsold inventory, up from 3.5 months in December and one year ago.
Median Sales Price in January
- $396,800: Median existing-home price[3] for all housing types, up 0.9% from one year ago ($393,400)—the 31st consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.
Housing Affordability in January
- The Housing Affordability Index rose to 116.5 in January, up from 111.6 in December 2025 (and 102.0 a year ago).
- Affordability improved across all regions.
- Northeast +9%
- Midwest +12.2%
- South +15.2%
- West +17.1%
Single-Family and Condo/Co-op Sales
Single-Family Homes in January
- 9.0% decrease in sales month over month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.53 million, down 4.3% from January 2025.
- $400,300: Median home price, up 0.6% from last year.
Condominiums and Co-ops in January
- 2.6% decrease in sales month over month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 380,000, down 5.0% from last year.
- $364,600: Median price, up 3.8% from January 2025.
Regional Snapshot for Existing-Home Sales in January
Northeast
- 5.9% decrease in sales month over month to an annual rate of 480,000, down 4.0% year over year.
- $505,400: Median price, up 5.8% from January 2025.
Midwest
- 7.1% decrease in sales month over month to an annual rate of 920,000, down 7.1% year over year.
- $295,400: Median price, up 2.3% from January 2025.
South
- 9.0% decrease in sales month over month to an annual rate of 1.81 million, down 1.6% year over year.
- $351,200: Median price, up 0.1% from January 2025.
West
- 10.3% decrease in sales month over month for an annual rate of 700,000, down 7.9% year over year.
- $600,400: Median price, down 1.4% from January 2025.
REALTORS® Confidence Index for January
- 46 days: Median time on market for properties, up from 39 days last month and 41 days in January 2025.
- 31% of sales were first-time homebuyers, up from 29% in December and 28% one year ago.
- 27% of transactions were cash sales, down from 28% a month ago and 29% in January 2025.
- 16% of transactions were individual investors or second-home buyers, down from 18% last month and 17% one year ago.
- 2% of sales were distressed sales[4] (foreclosures and short sales), unchanged from December and down from 3% in January 2025.
Mortgage Rates
- 6.10%: The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in January, according to Freddie Mac, down from 6.19% in December and 6.96% one year ago.
About the National Association of REALTORS®
The National Association of REALTORS® is involved in all aspects of residential and commercial real estate. The term REALTOR® is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. For free consumer guides about navigating the homebuying and selling transaction processes – from written buyer agreements to negotiating compensation – visit facts.realtor.
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For local information, please contact the local association of REALTORS® for data from local multiple listing services (MLS). Local MLS data is the most accurate source of sales and price information in specific areas, although there may be differences in reporting methodology.
NOTE: NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index for January will be released February 19, and Existing-Home Sales for February will be released March 10. Release times are 10 a.m. Eastern. See NAR’s statistical news release schedule.
Information about NAR is available at nar.realtor. This and other news releases are posted in the newsroom at nar.realtor/newsroom. Statistical data in this release, as well as other tables and surveys, are posted in the “Research and Statistics” tab.
[1] Existing-home sales, which include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, are based on transaction closings from Multiple Listing Services. Changes in sales trends outside of MLSs are not captured in the monthly series. NAR benchmarks home sales periodically using other sources to assess overall home sales trends, including sales not reported by MLSs.
Existing-home sales, based on closings, differ from the U.S. Census Bureau’s series on new single-family home sales, which are based on contracts or the acceptance of a deposit. Because of these differences, it is not uncommon for each series to move in different directions in the same month. In addition, existing-home sales, which account for more than 90% of total home sales, are based on a much larger data sample – about 40% of multiple listing service data each month – and typically are not subject to large prior-month revisions.
The annual rate for a particular month represents what the total number of actual sales for a year would be if the relative pace for that month were maintained for 12 consecutive months. Seasonally adjusted annual rates are used in reporting monthly data to factor out seasonal variations in resale activity. For example, home sales volume is normally higher in the summer than in the winter, primarily because of differences in the weather and family buying patterns. However, seasonal factors cannot compensate for abnormal weather patterns.
Single-family data collection began monthly in 1968, while condo data collection began quarterly in 1981; the series were combined in 1999 when monthly collection of condo data began. Prior to this period, single-family homes accounted for more than nine out of 10 purchases. Historic comparisons for total home sales prior to 1999 are based on monthly single-family sales, combined with the corresponding quarterly sales rate for condos.
[2] Total inventory and month’s supply data are available back through 1999, while single-family inventory and month’s supply are available back to 1982 (prior to 1999, single-family sales accounted for more than 90% of transactions and condos were measured only on a quarterly basis).
[3] The median price is where half sold for more and half sold for less; medians are more typical of market conditions than average prices, which are skewed higher by a relatively small share of upper-end transactions. The only valid comparisons for median prices are with the same period a year earlier due to seasonality in buying patterns. Month-to-month comparisons do not compensate for seasonal changes, especially for the timing of family buying patterns. Changes in the composition of sales can distort median price data. Year-ago median and mean prices sometimes are revised in an automated process if additional data is received.
The national median condo/co-op price often is higher than the median single-family home price because condos are concentrated in higher-cost housing markets. However, in a given area, single-family homes typically sell for more than condos as seen in NAR’s quarterly metro area price reports.
[4] Distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales), days on market, first-time buyers, all-cash transactions and investors are from a monthly survey for the NAR’s REALTORS® Confidence Index, posted at nar.realtor.
National Association of Realtors® media@nar.realtor
