Home prices rose 4.7 percent in December as inventory declined 12.7 percent, according to Redfin, a real estate brokerage. Home sales were flat, growing just 0.5 percent from December 2015.
Despite lackluster home sales volume, the extreme shortage of homes on the market made for the fastest December on record since Redfin began keeping track in 2010. Last month, the typical home went under contract in 54 days – five days faster than a year earlier.
Among homes sold in December, nearly one-third (32.7 percent) went under contract within two weeks, the largest reduction in inventory in any single month Redfin has on record.
“We’ve never before seen homes turn over so quickly at a national level,” Redfin Chief Economist Nela Richardson said in a press release. “This tells us that buyers are not deterred by low inventory, election uncertainty and slightly higher mortgage rates. If anything, these headwinds are motivating them to act sooner rather than later.”
Seattle was the fastest market, with half of all homes pending sale in just 19 days, down from 24 days a year earlier. Oakland, Calif., and Denver were next, both posting a median of 22 days on market, followed by Grand Rapids, Mich. (23); and Boston (26).
Seattle also had the nation’s highest price growth, rising 14.8 percent since last December to $459,975.
Poughkeepsie, N.Y., led the nation in year-over-year sales growth, up 57.9 percent, followed by Madison, Wisc., up 32 percent. Detroit had the largest decrease in overall inventory, falling 31.2 percent since December 2015.