In the month of January, new home sales rose less than expected, with only 661,000 new homes sold. With mortgage rates remaining close to 7%, potential homebuyers may still be wary to enter the US housing market. Could 2024 continue the housing trends seen from last year?

National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun joins Yahoo Finance to share insights into housing market trends expected for this year.

In terms of housing demand, Yu states: "There is definitely a large degree of pent-up demand, along with even delayed sellers, sellers who have life-changing circumstances — having additional child in the family, maybe a retirement age, maybe a new job that requires different commuting patterns — so all these delayed sellers are waiting for the rates to drop before listing their home, along with many buyers. The home sales closing activity is reflecting the interest rate of what was occurring in December."

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.

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Editor's note: This article was written by Nicholas Jacobino

Video Transcript

SEANA SMITH: Real estate existing home sales rising just a smidge though to start the year. So yes, the tick up in new home sales wasn't exactly as high as the Street had been forecasting, but we are edging I guess you can say in the right direction. Does this at all point to maybe a more positive, slightly stronger housing market that we could expect in 2024?

LAWRENCE YUN: I mean, there is definitely a large degree of pent up demand along with even delayed sellers. Sellers who have life-changing circumstances having additional child in the family, maybe a retirement age, maybe a new job that requires different commuting patterns. So all these delayed sellers are waiting for the rates to drop before listing their home along with many buyers.

Because the home sales closing activity is reflecting the interest rate of what was occurring in December. Again, it was lower but now here in late February, higher mortgage rates beginning to bite into some of the contract signings for new home sales. But let's also keep in mind that new home sales had their third best year since the foreclosure crisis of 2008 just last year. So this is clearly implying that there is a demand if inventory is available.

BRAD SMITH: Well, what does this mean in this interim period of time about some of the home improvement projects that people might even take on? And we think through how some of our viewers may be receiving this data and how it passes through to some of the stocks that we track, whether that be Home Depot or Lowe's, or even the home builders out there and Toll Brothers, Lennar and so forth where there's going to be this concerted focus on where-- if you're not getting back into the housing market right now, where you are spending to perhaps enhance your own home ownership experience?