Housing turnover is measured through several related but different indicators. In the United States, existing-home sales, new-home sales, inventory, months of supply, prices, and vacancy rates describe market activity and availability, but none is a complete measure of every household move.
Key Housing Turnover Statistics
The following figures summarize the broadest measured patterns:
- 6,120,000 existing homes sold in the United States in 2021 according to the annual National Association of Realtors series.
- 4,090,000 existing homes sold in the United States in 2023 according to the annual National Association of Realtors series.
- 4,000,000 existing-home sales at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in January 2024 in the United States.
- 3,900,000 existing-home sales at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in June 2024 in the United States.
- 1,880,000 existing homes sold in the South in 2023, the largest of the four U.S. Census regions in the supplied annual totals.
- 8.5% year-over-year growth in October 2024 existing-home sales in the West based on the regional seasonally adjusted annual-rate series.
- 990,000 existing homes in U.S. inventory in December 2023, measured as a point-in-time snapshot.
- 1,370,000 existing homes in U.S. inventory in October 2024, with the October figure marked preliminary in the source report.
- 3.1 months of existing-home supply in the United States in December 2023 as a market-rate measure.
- 4.3 months of existing-home supply in September 2024 in the United States.
- $389,300 was the U.S. median existing-home price in 2023 according to the annual series.
- $407,200 was the U.S. median existing-home price in October 2024, with the monthly value marked preliminary.
- 666,000 new single-family homes were estimated sold in the United States in 2023 by Census and HUD.
- 683,000 new single-family homes were estimated sold in the United States in 2024 by Census and HUD.
- 494,000 new houses were estimated for sale at the end of December 2024 in the United States.
- 8.5 months of new-home supply in December 2024 represented the inventory at the current sales rate.
- 2.8% of the U.S. homeowner inventory was vacant for sale in 2008 in the annual Census vacancy series.
- 0.8% of the U.S. homeowner inventory was vacant for sale in both 2022 and 2023 in the annual Census vacancy series.
Contents
- National existing-home sales trends
- Regional housing turnover data
- Inventory and months-of-supply trends
- Home prices associated with housing turnover
- New-home sales and residential turnover
- Vacancy rates as a turnover indicator
National Existing-Home Sales Trends
Existing-home sales are one of the clearest market-transaction measures of housing turnover, but they capture completed sales rather than every move or change in occupancy. The National Association of Realtors reported 6,120,000 U.S. existing-home sales in 2021, followed by 5,030,000 in 2022 and 4,090,000 in 2023.
| Period | U.S. existing-home sales | Measure |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 6,120,000 | Annual homes sold |
| 2022 | 5,030,000 | Annual homes sold |
| 2023 | 4,090,000 | Annual homes sold |
| January 2024 | 4,000,000 | Seasonally adjusted annual rate |
| February 2024 | 4,380,000 | Seasonally adjusted annual rate |
| March 2024 | 4,220,000 | Seasonally adjusted annual rate |
| April 2024 | 4,140,000 | Seasonally adjusted annual rate |
| May 2024 | 4,110,000 | Seasonally adjusted annual rate |
| June 2024 | 3,900,000 | Seasonally adjusted annual rate |
| July 2024 | 3,960,000 | Seasonally adjusted annual rate |
Source: Existing Home Sales, October 2024.
The monthly observations from January through July 2024 are seasonally adjusted annual rates, not literal counts of homes sold during each month. Within that series, the rate rose to 4,380,000 in February before reaching 3,900,000 in June and 3,960,000 in July.
These measures should not be read as a household mobility rate. A sale can involve an owner changing residence, an investment transaction, or another ownership change, while some households move without an existing-home sale.
Regional Housing Turnover Data
Regional totals show how uneven housing turnover can be across the United States. The 2023 annual existing-home sales totals were 490,000 in the Northeast, 980,000 in the Midwest, 1,880,000 in the South, and 740,000 in the West.
| U.S. Census region | 2023 annual sales | October 2024 SAAR sales |
|---|---|---|
| Northeast | 490,000 | 470,000 |
| Midwest | 980,000 | 950,000 |
| South | 1,880,000 | 1,770,000 |
| West | 740,000 | 770,000 |
Source: Existing Home Sales, October 2024. October 2024 regional observations are seasonally adjusted annual rates, and the report marks them as preliminary.
The same October 2024 series recorded year-over-year increases of 8.5% in the West, 2.3% in the South, and 1.1% in the Midwest. The supplied regional comparison does not provide an October year-over-year percentage for the Northeast, so no additional direction is assigned here.
The regions are U.S. Census regions rather than individual states. Regional sales volumes also reflect differences in population, housing stock, and housing mix, so a larger total is not by itself a measure of a faster turnover rate.
Housing Turnover Inventory and Months-of-Supply Trends
Inventory describes homes available for sale at a point in time, while months of supply compares that inventory with the prevailing sales rate. Neither measure is a physical estimate of how long a particular household has occupied a home.
| Period | Existing-home inventory | Months of supply |
|---|---|---|
| December 2021 | 880,000 | 2.3 |
| December 2022 | 960,000 | 2.7 |
| December 2023 | 990,000 | 3.1 |
| January 2024 | 1,010,000 | 3.0 |
| February 2024 | 1,060,000 | 2.9 |
| March 2024 | 1,110,000 | 3.2 |
| April 2024 | 1,200,000 | 3.5 |
| May 2024 | 1,280,000 | 3.7 |
| June 2024 | 1,320,000 | 4.1 |
| August 2024 | — | 4.2 |
| September 2024 | — | 4.3 |
| October 2024 | 1,370,000 | — |
Source: Existing Home Sales, October 2024.
The annual inventory figures are December snapshots, not annual averages. Monthly inventory rose from 1,010,000 units in January 2024 to 1,320,000 in June and 1,370,000 in October; the October value is preliminary in the report.
The existing-home months-of-supply measure was 2.3 in 2021, 2.7 in 2022, and 3.1 in 2023. During 2024 it was 3.0 in January, 2.9 in February, 3.2 in March, 3.5 in April, 3.7 in May, 4.1 in June, 4.2 in August, and 4.3 in September, with the September value revised in the source table.
Home Prices Associated With Housing Turnover
Prices provide context for the financial scale of transactions, but a median is not an average and does not describe the price of a typical individual home in every market. The annual U.S. median existing-home price was $350,700 in 2021, $386,400 in 2022, and $389,300 in 2023.
| Period | U.S. median existing-home price |
|---|---|
| 2021 | $350,700 |
| 2022 | $386,400 |
| 2023 | $389,300 |
| January 2024 | $378,600 |
| February 2024 | $383,800 |
| March 2024 | $392,900 |
| April 2024 | $406,600 |
| May 2024 | $417,200 |
| June 2024 | $426,900 |
| July 2024 | $421,400 |
| August 2024 | $414,200 |
| September 2024 | $406,700 |
| October 2024 | $407,200 |
Source: Existing Home Sales, October 2024. Monthly medians are not seasonally adjusted, and the October 2024 value is preliminary.
October 2024 regional medians ranged from $305,300 in the Midwest to $627,700 in the West. The Northeast median was $472,900 and the South median was $361,200.
Regional medians are not directly comparable to the national median because the housing mix differs across regions. The figures also describe sale prices, not the total cost of moving, financing, maintenance, storage, or other household expenses.
New-Home Sales and Residential Turnover
New-home sales measure a different part of residential turnover from existing-home sales. The Census Bureau and HUD series covers new, privately owned single-family houses and excludes existing-home sales.
An estimated 666,000 new homes were sold in the United States in 2023 and an estimated 683,000 were sold in 2024. Census and HUD reported the 2024 estimate as 2.5% above 2023, with a reported margin of ±4.5% around the annual change.
In December 2024, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of new single-family home sales was 698,000. That rate was 3.6% above the revised November 2024 rate of 674,000, with a reported ±19.7% margin around the monthly change, and 6.7% above the December 2023 estimate of 654,000, with a reported ±16.2% margin.
| December 2024 new-home measure | Estimate |
|---|---|
| New-home sales SAAR | 698,000 |
| New houses for sale | 494,000 |
| Months of supply | 8.5 |
| Median sales price | $427,000 |
| Average sales price | $513,600 |
Source: Monthly New Residential Sales, December 2024. Sales are estimates, the inventory is a seasonally adjusted point-in-time estimate, and months of supply is based on the current sales rate.
The December 2024 median new-house sales price was $427,000, while the average was $513,600. Those statistics answer different distributional questions: the median identifies the midpoint of the sales-price distribution, while the average is affected by higher- and lower-priced sales.
Vacancy Rates as a Housing Turnover Indicator
Vacancy rates add an availability perspective but are not direct measures of homes sold or households moving. The annual U.S. home vacancy rate here refers to the percentage of homeowner inventory vacant for sale.
| Year | Home vacancy rate |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 2.8% |
| 2010 | 2.6% |
| 2012 | 2.0% |
| 2019 | 1.4% |
| 2020 | 1.0% |
| 2021 | 0.9% |
| 2022 | 0.8% |
| 2023 | 0.8% |
| 2024 | 1.0% |
| 2025 | 1.1% |
Source: Table Data – Home Vacancy Rate for the United States. The FRED table identifies the Census Bureau annual home-vacancy series.
The rate declined from 2.8% in 2008 to 1.4% in 2019, then reached 0.9% in 2021 and 0.8% in both 2022 and 2023. It rose to 1.0% in 2024 and 1.1% in 2025 in the latest annual values in the opened series.
The Census Housing Vacancies and Homeownership historical tables document annual and quarterly inventory and vacancy tables and revision controls. The Census page notes revisions tied to independent housing controls, including revisions to 2020-present data, so historical comparisons should use the current revised series.
Together, sales, inventory, prices, new construction, and vacancy describe distinct parts of housing turnover. Keeping the population, geography, period, unit, and measurement type visible is essential when comparing them.