The national median home-sale price in January rose 14 percent year-over-year to $330,500, according to a new report from Redfin.
Redfin said January’s increase was just shy of the largest increase seen since 2013, which was 14.5 percent in July 2013. During January, closed home sales increased 20 percent from a year ago, and pending sales jumped 37 percent while new listings fell 6 percent.
“The imbalance between supply and demand reached a new high in January,” Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather said. “Buyers were eager to make offers and make them quickly to take advantage of historically low mortgage rates while they last.”
“But many homeowners who want to move feel stuck with limited options of homes to move to, frustrated about homes finding buyers within hours of hitting the market and defeated after repeatedly losing out in bidding wars,” Fairweather said. “People who are committed to finding a home this season should plan for the harsh reality that they may need backup homes in mind when they go on a home tour and when they submit an offer or be prepared to wait weeks or months for another ideal home to hit the market.”
According to the report, median prices increased from a year earlier in all 85 of the largest metro areas Redfin tracks. Redfin said the smallest yearly price gains were in San Francisco (+3 percent); New York City (+5 percent). The largest price increases were in Camden, N.J. (+29 percent), Allentown, Pa. (+26 percent) and Detroit (+25 percent).
Redfin said home sales in January were up 20 percent year-over-year, down from the record high of 25 percent set in October, but still the third-highest gain on record since at least 2013.
The number of homes sold in January was up year-over-year in all but five of the 85 largest metro areas Redfin tracks. The largest gains in sales were in San Francisco (+44 percent); San Jose, Calif. (+43 percent); and Bridgeport, Conn. (+42 percent). The metro areas where home sales fell the most were Grand Rapids, Mich. (-8 percent) and Denver (-2 percent).
Only four of the 85 largest metros tracked by Redfin posted year-over-year increases in active listings of homes for sale. The largest gains were in San Francisco (+51 percent); San Jose, Calif. (+26 percent); and Oakland, Calif. (+3 percent).
Redfin said the biggest yearly declines in active housing supply in January were in Salt Lake City (-66 percent); Allentown, Pa. (-55 percent); and Baton Rouge, La. (-54 percent).
The typical home that sold in January went under contract in 34 days—22 days fewer than a year earlier. In January, 33 percent of homes sold above list price, down slightly from the peak of 35 percent in November but up from 19 percent from one year ago.