Home sale prices have hit an all-time, according to a new report from Redfin published on Wednesday.
During the four-week period ending November 14, the median home sale prices rose to $359,975, a 14% year-over-year increase and the largest increase this year since early September. This marks a 1.9% increase from a month earlier, a growth rate that is nearly four times faster than the 0.5% increase seen during the same time period a year prior.
In addition, the median asking price of newly listed homes was $352,250, up 12% from a year ago and up 26% from 2019. On top of this increase in median asking price, 43% of homes sold above list price, up from 35% in 2020 and 21% in 2019.
Though the housing market typically slows down in the fall and winter, the data contains no indication of the normal seasonal slowdown. During this time period, homes that sold sat on the market for a median of 24 days, and 45% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market. In comparison, during the same time period in 2020, the median days on market was 31 days and only 39% of homes had an accepted offer within two weeks. Additionally, pending home sales were up 8% year-over-year and up 51% compared to the same time period in 2019.
“Rising rents and rising prices on everything from gas to groceries may be motivating more people to buy homes now,” Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s chief economist, said in a statement. “Buying a home is a type of hedge against inflation, especially with mortgage rates still near historic lows. If high inflation persists, a large home mortgage could seem a lot less expensive in just a few years.”
Although the market is still plagued by low inventory, with the number of active listings down 22% from a year prior and 41% from 2019, it seems that more sellers are being drawn to the market due to the elevated home sale prices. The number of homes listed for sale was down less than 3% year-over-year and actually up 11% from 2019. In addition, since the four-week period ending on October 3, new listings were down just 16%, a smaller decline than the 21% drop seen in 2019 and the 18% decrease recorded a year ago.
