Inventories Persist at Record Lows
Homes for sale fell to another record low during the week ending November 28, said Redfin, Seattle. Sustained demand pushed the median home price to another record high, and one-third of homes sold in one week or less.
The report said new listings of homes for sale fell by 4% from a year earlier, but rose by 12% from 2019. During the seven-day period ending November 28, active listings fell to a record low. For the four-week period, active listings fell by 23% from 2020 and by 42% from 2019.
“The number of homes for sale typically declines another 15% in December,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “That means that by the end of the year, there will likely be 100,000 fewer homes for sale than there were in February when housing supply last hit rock bottom. I think more new listings will hit the market in the new year, but there will also be a long line of buyers who are queuing up right now.”
Meanwhile, Fairweather noted, headlines and new restrictions related to the omicron variant of the coronavirus could fuel some uncertainty and volatility in the economy. “In the short term, global interest rates, including mortgage rates, could fall,” she said. “In this extremely tight housing market, we would quickly see a proportional increase in competition and home prices.”
Other key findings from the report (through Nov. 28):
• The median home-sale price hit a record-high $360,375, up 14% year over year, up 31% from the same period in 2019 and up 1.5% from a month earlier, far greater than the 0.2% increase seen during the same period last year.
• Asking prices of newly listed homes rose by 12% from a year ago and by 27% from 2019 to a median of $349,750.
• Pending home sales rose by 8% year over year, and by 49% from the same period in 2019.
• 45% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market, above the 39% rate of a year earlier and the 28% rate in 2019. Since the four-week period ending September 19, the share of homes under contract within two weeks is up 2.3 percentage points. During the same time in 2019, the share fell 3.1 points.
• 33% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within one week of hitting the market, up from 27% during the same period a year earlier and 18% in 2019. Since the four-week period ending September 12, the share of homes under contract within a week is up 2.9 percentage points. During the same time in 2019, the share fell 2.3 points.
• Homes that sold were on the market for a median of 25 days, down from 31 days a year earlier and 46 days in 2019.
• 43% of homes sold above list price, up from 35% a year earlier and 21% in 2019.
• On average, 3.8% of homes for sale each week had a price drop, up 0.7 percentage points from the same time in 2020 and up 0.2 points from this time in 2019.
