Thanks to persistently strong sales, inventory levels in the city eased to 2,620 units, the lowest levels seen since 2006; this caused the months of supply to remain exceptionally low for this time of year at 1.3 months. The tight market conditions contributed to further upward pressure on prices. The unadjusted benchmark price in January reached $472,300. This marked a monthly gain of nearly two percent and a year-over-year gain of 12 percent.
Expected gains in lending rates contribute to persistently strong demand in the housing market, as purchasers are eager to get ahead of any increases. We did see more listings this month, but it did little to change the market balance or take any pressure off prices. This was expected as these conditions should persist for several more months.
There were 2,009 sales in January, well below record levels, but over 98 percent higher than long-term trends. At the same time, 2,476 new listings came onto the market, resulting in a sales-to-new-listings ratio of 81 percent. These levels are higher than levels traditionally recorded in January.
