December real estate market update: slight decrease in YoY sales, market still cooling but better than November

First up, December deals. These mostly reflect contracts that got inked back in October and November. So, what’s shaking in the inventory department? Down 6.0% year-over-year in November, it’s now snugged down 3.4%. Not bad, eh?

New listings? Dive into this table (not all report them, the shy ones). Overall, they dipped 3.0% year-over-year. Last month, the drop was just 0.9%, so things are looking…less droopy? Remember when mortgage rates took flight and new listings plummeted? Yeah, that was rough. But things are slowly thawing out, and we might even see an uptick soon. Still, compared to 2019, it’s a ghost town out there.

Now, for the main event: December sales. These markets saw a 7.9% dip, but hey, that’s not as bad as the 11.3% nosedive in November! Plus, December 2023 had one less working day than 2022, so when we adjust for seasons, the drop will be even smaller. Think of it as a sales dip with training wheels.

This early glimpse suggests December’s national report will show a slight year-over-year sales dip. But hey, who’s counting? Probably the 28th consecutive month in a row, but who needs that kind of negativity, right?