Auction.com is not expecting existing-home sales to massively increase in January compared to the previous month.
The Irvine, Calif.-based company's Real Estate Nowcast projects that January existing-homes sales will fall between seasonally adjusted rates of 4.9 million and 5.21 million annual sales. The target number is projected to be 5.06 million.
If this forecast is accurate, the figures will be up from one year ago, but flat compared to December sales, which was 5.04 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.
"Demand continues to be tepid, reflected by the relatively weak search activity that we're tracking in Google Trends data," said Rick Sharga, executive vice president at the online real estate marketplace company. "And inventory levels of available homes continue to fall, which means that even if demand picks up, there might not be enough homes to meet it."
Peter Muoio, chief economist at Auction.com, said that potential fallout from weaker economies in the
"White-hot sales growth in Texas has well outpaced U.S. existing-home sales growth over the past three years, pushing the Texas share of U.S. existing-home sales up to a near-record 6.2%," Muoio said. "Low oil will cool the Texas economy and likely with it home sales within the state, exerting a drag on U.S. sales in 2015."
