US existing home sales accelerate in December

Core Insights - U.S. existing home sales increased by 5.1% in December, reaching a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.35 million units, surpassing economists' expectations of 4.21 million units [1][2] - Year-over-year home sales rose by 1.4%, indicating a slight improvement in the housing market [1] Group 1: Market Conditions - Lower mortgage rates and slow growth in house prices contributed to the acceleration in home sales [1][2] - Inventory levels of existing homes increased by 3.5% year-over-year to 1.18 million units in December, with a current sales pace indicating it would take 3.3 months to exhaust this inventory, up from 3.2 months a year ago [3] Group 2: Price Trends - The median existing home price rose by 0.4% year-over-year to $405,400, reflecting a modest increase in home values [4] - Proposed measures by President Trump to ban institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes aim to enhance affordability in the housing market [4]