“While respondents remain discouraged by the pandemic-era run-up in home prices and mortgage rates, the upward trend in homebuying sentiment in 2024 may reflect a slow acclimatization to the generally less-affordable market conditions," the release noted.

Home sales in 2024 tumbled to their lowest level in nearly two decades but the Northeast offered a small glimmer of hope in an otherwise challenging year for the housing market. Existing-home sales dropped to 4.