Redfin: March Home Prices, Sales Post Strong Gains Amid Low Inventories

Redfin, Seattle, said its March monthly survey showed U.S. home prices rose by 7.5 percent to a median sale price of $273,000.

The survey (https://www.redfin.com/blog/2017/04/march-2017-real-time-housing-market-tracker.html) said home sales rose by nearly 9 percent from a year ago, despite the number of homes for sale falling by 13 percent compared to last March, marking the 18th consecutive month of annual supply declines.

Redfin said 2017 remains on track to be the “fastest housing market on record.” It said the typical home that sold last month went under contract in just 49 days, making it the fastest March Redfin has recorded since 2010. A year earlier, the median time on market was 60 days. Nearly one in five (19.1 percent) homes sold in March went under contract within two weeks; 21.7 percent of homes sold for more than their list price.

Denver and Seattle were the fastest markets, where the typical home was under contract in just eight days. Oakland, Calif., and San Jose, Calif., followed with 13 and 14 median days on market respectively.

The most competitive market in March was San Jose, where 69.6 percent of homes sold above the asking price, followed by 66.7 percent in San Francisco 65.9 percent in Oakland, 56.6 percent in Seattle and 44.4 percent in Tacoma, Wash.

Pricewise, Grand Rapids, Mich., saw the nation’s highest price growth, rising by 16.3 percent from a year ago to $162,750. Orlando ranked second at 15.5 percent, followed by Santa Rosa, Calif. (15.0 percent), Seattle (14.5 percent) and Tampa, Fla. (14.3 percent).

The survey said only four metros saw prices decline in March: Birmingham, Ala. (-3.2 percent), Baton Rouge, La. (-2.8 percent), Durham, N.C. (-1.7 percent) and San Antonio, Texas (-1.5 percent).

Redfin reported 32 of 90 metro areas surveyed saw sales increase by double digits from last year. Poughkeepsie, N.Y. led the nation in year-over-year sales growth, up by 41 percent, followed by Baltimore, up 40.6 percent. Camden, N.J. saw sales rise by 31.6 percent from a year ago. Conversely, home sales in Buffalo, N.Y. and Provo, Utah declined by 23.0 percent and 14.8 percent, respectively.

The report said Rochester, N.Y. saw the largest inventory decline, falling by 39.0 percent from a year ago, followed by Buffalo (-34.5 percent), Rochester, N.H. (-33.2 percent) and Portsmouth, N.H. (-31.4 percent). Fort Myers, Fla., saw the highest increase in homes for sale, up by 32.4 percent year over year, followed by Knoxville, Tenn. (22.3 percent) and Austin, Texas (10.3 percent).