The market picked up speed as sales surged and inventory fell for the 14th consecutive month.
SEATTLE– U.S. home prices rose 7.7 percent in November, the largest year-over-year increase in 14 months, according to Redfin (www.redfin.com), the next-generation real estate brokerage. Home sales rebounded after a tepid October, growing 20.1 percent, the biggest annual gain since July 2015.
“Last year we saw a temporary slump in November sales as new mortgage industry regulations went into effect and delayed some closings,” said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson. “Now, those regulatory hurdles have largely been resolved but the market is by no means back to normal. We’ve seen a pickup in the number of Redfin customers going on tours and making offers the last two months as consistently good economic news has bolstered consumer confidence. The Federal Reserve’s decision to raise rates is unlikely to significantly dampen homebuyer enthusiasm as we enter 2017. We’re still expecting another year of rising prices and modestly growing home sales.”
The number of homes for sale continued a 14-month trend of declines, down 9.7 percent from last November. This was the biggest drop in inventory since July 2014. As inventory dwindled, the overall pace of the market increased. The typical home sold in 50 days – six days faster than a year ago – making last month the fastest November housing market on record since Redfin began tracking this data in 2009. A quarter of homes went under contract within two weeks, and one-fifth of homes sold for more than their asking price last month.
Regional Highlights from November:
- Seattle, WA was the fastest market, with the typical home under contract in 15 days, down from 18 days a year earlier. Oakland, CA and Denver, CO were the next fastest markets, each with 19 median days on market. Boston, MA and Portland, OR rounded out the top five fastest markets, with the typical homes selling there in 20 and 23 days respectively.
- Fort Lauderdale, FL had the nation’s highest price growth, rising 18.4% since last year to $225,000. Prices fell 2.2% in San Francisco, the metro’s first price decline since May 2012.
- 73 out of 90 metros saw sales surge by double digits from last year. St. Louis, MO led the nation in year-over-year sales growth, up 55.9%, followed by Charleston, SC, up 48.6%. Birmingham, AL rounded out the top three with sales up 48.3% from a year ago.
- Rochester, NY had the largest decrease in overall inventory, falling 40.3% since last November. Buffalo, NY (-35.2%), Portsmouth, NH (-31.2%) and Rochester, NH (-30.1%) also continued seeing far fewer homes available on the market than a year ago.
To read the full report, complete with data and charts, please visit the following link: https://www.redfin.com/blog/2016/12/national-housing-market-tracker-november-2016.html
About Redfin Corporation
Redfin (www.redfin.com) is the next-generation real estate brokerage, combining its own full-service agents with modern technology to redefine real estate in the consumer’s favor. Founded by software engineers, Redfin has the country’s #1 brokerage website and offers a host of online tools to consumers, including the Redfin Estimate, the highly accurate automated home-value estimate. Homebuyers and sellers enjoy a full-service, technology-powered experience from Redfin real estate agents, while saving thousands in commissions. Redfin serves more than 80 major metro areas across the U.S. The company has closed more than $31 billion in home sales to date, and saved customers more than $335 million in fees, and counting.
For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center.
