$\"The$ \n

If you saw headlines that talked about how \u201chome sales fell sharply in January<\/em>,\u201d it probably raised an eyebrow \u2013 especially if you\u2019re thinking about selling your house. But context matters.<\/p>\n

Yes, in January, home sales declined. But that has more to do with seasonality and the weather than it does with any big drop off in demand.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

What\u2019s Really Behind the Decline?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h4>\n
Reports<\/a> coming out of the National Association of Realtors<\/em> (NAR) say the pace of home sales fell roughly 8.4% last month compared to the month before. <\/strong>And that\u2019s\u00a0true. But it isn\u2019t necessarily cause for alarm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Data show it\u2019s normal for sales to dip in January. In the last 4 years, that pattern has held true all but once. And sure, the decline we saw this year was a steeper drop off than the norm (the yellow bars on the right<\/em>), but that can be explained too. More on that in a moment.<\/em><\/p>\n
The really important part you\u2019re not going to get from the headlines is this: typically speaking, the pace of home sales picks back up in February as the spring market starts to take off. <\/strong>That\u2019s shown in the green bars below.<\/p>\n
So even though the market slowed a bit momentarily, it should start to pick back up.<\/strong><\/p>\n
And just in case you\u2019re wondering, why the bigger drop this year, especially with mortgage rates<\/a> being lower than last year? Here\u2019s your answer. As Realtor.com<\/em> explains<\/a>:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWinter storm Fern, which dumped snow and ice across large swaths of the country, likely disrupted some closings, weighing on the data and making it difficult to pick out the housing market momentum trend from the weather noise.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This <\/strong>January, 40 states were hit with widespread winter weather according to the National Weather Service<\/em>. And in real estate, that slows down the momentum. Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n
Existing home sales data tracks closed transactions<\/strong>, not new contracts. So, if inspections, appraisals, or final walk-throughs get delayed by storms, those deals often slide into the next month instead of falling apart \u2013 especially when buyers and sellers are still trying to move forward.<\/p>\n
Will Home Sales Pick Back Up?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
January\u2019s missing sales are more likely \u201cpostponed\u201d than \u201clost.\u201d<\/strong> They haven\u2019t disappeared. They\u2019re just taking a little longer to close.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rest of the data still points to a market that has traction heading into spring.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Affordability has improved for the 7^{th<\/sup> month<\/a> in a row, and buyers are regaining negotiating power in many markets throughout the nation. So, this one monthly report doesn\u2019t mean buyers aren\u2019t buying. It just means, as weather warms up, activity should too.<\/strong><\/p>\n}
Bottom Line<\/h3>\n
Don\u2019t confuse a weather-impacted month with a market losing steam.<\/strong> If anything, improving affordability is an indicator of more activity to come, not less.<\/p>\n
If you have questions about what you\u2019re hearing online or in the news, reach out to a local real estate agent. Because the truth is, a little context can give you back your peace of mind.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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