Short answer. U.S. existing-home sales peaked in 2005 at 7.08 million — the highest annual reading in the NAR series, driven by the subprime lending boom. The second-highest reading was 6.12 million in 2021 during the COVID-era low-rate surge.
| Year | Existing Home Sales | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 6.18M | Early bubble runup |
| 2004 | 6.78M | Accelerating |
| 2005 | 7.08M | All-time peak |
| 2006 | 6.48M | Turning point |
| 2007 | 5.65M | Crash begins |
| 2010 | 4.19M | Post-crash floor |
| 2021 | 6.12M | COVID rebound high |
| 2024 | ~4.06M | 30-year rate headwind |
The National Association of Realtors has tracked existing-home sales since 1968. The 56-year series shows two major peaks and a long post-2008 era of structurally suppressed volume.
The 2005 peak
Existing-home sales hit their all-time annual high of 7.08 million in 2005. This coincided with the peak of subprime mortgage origination, when lending standards had loosened sufficiently to bring millions of marginal borrowers into the homebuying market. New-home sales peaked the same year at 1.28 million, bringing the combined total to 8.36 million — a record that has not been approached since.
Pre-subprime highs
Before the subprime era, existing-home sales had never exceeded 6 million. The pre-2003 peak was 5.34 million (2001) — a reading that now appears modest. The jump from 5.63 million in 2002 to 7.08 million in 2005 was driven almost entirely by expanded credit access, not demographic demand.
The COVID-era second peak
In 2021, existing-home sales reached 6.12 million — the highest since 2006 — driven by 2.96% mortgage rates, remote-work-driven demand, and pandemic-era savings deployed as down payments. This peak unwound rapidly: sales fell to 5.03 million in 2022 and 4.09 million in 2023 as rate lock froze supply and higher rates priced out buyers.
The post-peak collapse
By 2024, existing-home sales had fallen to 4.06 million — the lowest since 1995 and roughly 43% below the 2005 peak. Unlike the 2008 crash (which involved forced selling and price declines), the current low volume reflects voluntary non-selling by rate-locked homeowners, creating a frozen market rather than a crashing one.
Sources
National Association of Realtors Existing Home Sales annual series; Housing Almanac annual data 1968–2024.
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