The national median home-sale price in December rose 13 percent year-over-year to $334,300, according to a report from Redfin.
During December, closed home sales increased 16 percent from a year earlier and pending sales jumped 35 percent. Redfin said new listings increased 14 percent year-over-year.
“The December housing market felt more like spring than winter,” Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather said in a release. “Right now homebuying demand is seemingly endless, and although new listings are up from a year ago, it’s not nearly enough to keep up with demand. This inventory shortage is especially dire in places that have become hot migration destinations during the pandemic, like Salt Lake City.”
According to the report, median prices increased in each of the 85 largest metro areas Redfin tracks. The smallest price gains were in San Francisco (+3 percent). The largest price increases were in Bridgeport, Conn. (+28 percent); Camden, N.J. (+24 percent); and New Brunswick, N.J. (+21 percent).
“It seems no matter how high we price some homes, buyers are willing to pay more,” said Shellie Silva, an agent in Grand Rapids, Mich., where median sale prices rose 12 percent in December. “Buyers—especially out of-towners—are offering up to $30,000 in cash to cover any appraisal gap in addition to waiving inspection contingencies. A lot of the demand is coming from people moving here from the Chicago area, drawn by low property taxes and relatively affordable housing.”
Redfin said home sales jumped 16 percent in December compared with one year ago, with the largest gains in Bridgeport, Conn. (+52 percent); New Brunswick, N.J. (+47 percent); and Oxnard, Calif. (+41 percent). The metro areas with the smallest increase in the number of homes sold were Fresno, Calif., and Miami, both of which had gains of just 3 percent.