U.S. home-sale prices inched up 1.2 percent in December compared with a year ago to a median of $289,800, according to a market analysis by Redfin.
December’s increase in home-sale prices was the smallest since March 2012, Redfin said.
“December may feel like a foot on the brake, but the housing market was going over the speed limit,” Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather said in a release. “Home prices have been growing faster than wages since 2012, and that can’t go on forever.
“Now that price growth has slowed down and more homes are sitting on the market, buyers will have the upper hand in 2019,” Fairweather continued. “Buyers will have more options with more homes for sale, and it will be sellers working to woo buyers into making an offer. And as a bonus, buyers, for the time being, have the benefit of mortgage interest rates that are lower than they were in late 2018, which will make borrowing more affordable.”
According to the analysis, the median sale price of homes sold in December fell in nine of the 76 largest metro areas Redfin tracks, including San Jose (-7.3 percent) and in Boston (-1 percent). The national number of completed home sales dropped 10.9 percent in December compared with one year ago, as home sales declined in 69 of the 76 largest metro areas.
“Buyers shopping now are benefiting from sellers who are willing to negotiate, since it’s anyone’s guess what the spring real estate market will look like,” Seattle-based Redfin agent Jessie Culbert said. “Well-priced, appealing homes are seeing the return of pre-inspections and even multiple offer situations, so it may be too soon to get comfortable with the idea of a slower market.”
Home inventories also are increasing in many markets. Redfin said 46 of the 76 largest metro areas saw an increase in the number of homes for sale in December. The largest gains were in San Jose (+131.3 percent), Seattle (+117.8 percent) and Oakland (+69 percent). Conversely, New Orleans (-32.3 percent), Montgomery County, Pa. (-24.3 percent) and Philadelphia (-22.4 percent) had significant declines in home inventories in December.
Redfin’s analysis also found that the typical home that sold in December went under contract in a median of 50 days, the same as one year earlier; and 18 percent of homes sold above the list price, down from 21 percent from one year ago.