The article highlights that 2024 was the lowest home sales since 1995 – 4.06 million homes. This, of course, is made even more amazing (or depressing, depending on your perspective), when they note that the US population has increased by over 70 million. Given the 1995 population’s that’s a 26% increase in population.
So, even at standard growth given the population growth, the number of homes at the WEAK 1995 level would have been 5.13 Million homes.
So, 2024’s record breaking low sales number is a bit over 1 MILLION fewer homes sold that one would have expected if one factors in US population growth….incredible.
And, even more incredible is when the article notes that, even with this low transaction volume, home prices on average went up 4.7%, hinting at a lack of inventory being a significant driver for the low home sales.
Source: Veiga, A. (January 25, 2025). 2024 US home sales hit lowest level in nearly 30 years with ownership increasingly out of reach. The Associated Press.
