Housing inventory dropped by 16.5% over last year to 860,000, marking a record low since NAR began tracking the data in 1999. Record low supplies led to higher prices, with the median existing-home price rising by 15.4% over last year to $350,000.
Stocks continued to fall on Friday as geopolitical tensions led to more investors selling riskier equities. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped over 200 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7% and 1.2% lower, respectively. All three indexes each lost more than 1% this week as furter Russia-Ukraine tensions pull Wall Street lower for a second consecutive week.
Here's how the market settled to close out the week:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): -0.72% or -31.37 points to 4,348.87
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): -0.68% or -232.85 points to 34,079.18
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): -1.23% or -168.65 points to 13,548.07
Roku falls 22%, on par with worst day ever, following disappointing Q4 earnings:
Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) shares fell as much as 25% on Friday after the streaming company reported Q4 earnings that missed Wall Street expectations after market close on Thursday and issued weak Q1 guidance. The decline adds to the stock's 10% fall on Thursday.
For its fourth quarter, Roku reported revenue of $865.3 million, below expectations of $894 million. That revenue growth was only up 33% year-over-year, less than the 51% growth seen in Q3 and 81% growth rate in Q2. Roku also projected revenue of $720 million in Q1, implying growth of 25%.
The company blamed its slowing growth on supply chain issues impacting the U.S. television market, with the company choosing not to pass higher costs onto consumers.
Roku ended Friday's session down 22%, matching its worst one-day share drop posted on Nov. 8, 2018.
Existing home sales jump higher in January:
Sales of previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly rose for the first month of 2022, reversing declines from the prior month.
Existing home sales rose at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 6.5 million in January, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) report published Friday. This represented a 6.7% month-on-month increase, following a 3.8% decline in December. Still, sales were down 2.3% from the same month last year.
"Buyers were likely anticipating further rate increases and locking-in at the low rates, and investors added to overall demand with all-cash offers," said Lawrence Yun, chief economists at NAR, in a press statement. "Consequently, housing prices continue to move solidly higher."