National Association of Realtors data shows existing-home sales declined for the 11th straight month in December, as the housing market continues to moderate. Month-over-month, sales in three major U.S. regions fell, but sales in the West held steady. Year-over-year declines were observed in all regions.

There were 4.02 million existing-home sales in December, a 1.5% decrease from November, seasonally adjusted to reflect sales of single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops. The number of sales slid 34.0% year-over-year, from 6.09 million in December 2021.

At the end of December, the registered total housing inventory was 970,000 units, which was up 10.2% from one year ago (880,000) but down 13.4% from November. At the current sales pace, unsold inventory has a 2.9-month supply, up from 1.7 months in December 2021, but down from 3.3 months in November.

Prices for existing homes rose across all regions in December, reaching $366,900, a 2.3% increase from December 2021 ($358,800). It is the longest streak of consecutive year-over-year increases on record, extending to 130 consecutive months.

December’s average time on the market was 26 days, compared with 24 in November and 19 in December 2021. In December 2022, 57 percent of houses were sold less than a month of being listed.

There were 31% of sales attributed to first-time buyers in December, compared with 28% in November and 30% in December 2021. Released last November 2022, NAR’s Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers for 2022 showed that first-time buyers’ annual share was 26%, the lowest since NAR began collecting the data.

28% of all transactions in December were all cash sales. That’s up from 26% and 23% in November 2022 and December 2021, respectively.

16% of home purchases in December were made by individual investors or second-home buyers, who make up many cash sales. That’s up from November’s 14% but down from December 2021’s 17%.

1% of sales in December are foreclosures and short sales or distressed sales. That is virtually the same compared to last month and a year ago.

As of January 19, Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.15%. This is lower than last week’s 6.33%, but higher than last year’s 3.56%.