January Sees New Listings Surge, Sales Dip
(Photo: Michael Tucker)
January experienced the U.S. housing market’s typical annual reset, delivering the lowest sales of the last 12 months alongside the largest month-to-month increase in new listings, according to REMAX, Denver.
Home sales fell 32.0% from December and 6.0% from January 2025, while new listings jumped 61.8% month over month and finished 3.8% below last year. Across the 52 metro areas surveyed, inventory was essentially unchanged from December (-0.1%) but was 10.9% higher year over year, marking the twenty-fifth consecutive month of year-over-year increases.
Compared to the four previous Januaries, last month posted:
• Most days on market at 62 days, up from 61 in December and 56 a year ago. (Past Januaries: 2024: 47 days, 2023: 51 days, and 2022: 36 days.)
• One of the highest number of months’ supply of inventory at 3.1 months, down from 3.5 in December but above 2.8 a year ago. (Past Januaries: 2024: 2.1 months; 2023: 2.0 months; 2022: 1.1 months.)
REMAX said the median sales price of $425,000 was 2.0% lower than December and 1.0% higher year over year. Buyers paid an average of 98% of the asking price, unchanged from both December 2025 and January 2025.
“In a month that is traditionally slow, inventory was higher than it was a year ago, and new listings came to market, giving buyers more options,” REMAX CEO Erik Carlson noted. “Even as sales adjusted seasonally, the fundamentals point to a market that continues moving toward balance.”
New Listings
In the 52 metro areas surveyed in January, the number of newly listed homes was down 3.8% compared to January 2025 and up 61.8% compared to December 2025. The markets with the biggest decrease in year-over-year new listings percentage were Dover, Del. at -42.4%, Philadelphia at -33.0% and Baltimore at -28.2%.
The markets with the biggest year-over-year increase in new listings percentage included Kansas City, Mo. at +19.4%, Birmingham, Ala. at +16.3%, and Cincinnati at +11.3%.
Closed Transactions
Of the 52 metro areas REMAX surveyed in January, the overall number of home sales was down 6.0% compared to January 2025 and down 32.0% compared to December 2025. The markets with the biggest decrease in year-over-year sales percentage were Minneapolis at -16.4%, Hartford, Conn. at -14.8% and Denver at -14.0%.
The markets with the biggest increase in year-over-year sales percentages included Wichita, Kan. at +24.7%, New Orleans at +23.7%, and Manchester, N.H. at +15.5%.
