The calendar has turned to fall, but the housing market still seems to think it’s summer.
The U.S. housing market chugged along at near record levels in October – with houses selling faster in October than September for the first time since 2011, according to a new report released by realtor.com.
“In the fall, we normally see homes sell more slowly and prices pull back from peak levels. But this October, we saw a drop in the time it takes to sell a home even while home prices remain at their summer peak,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist for realtor.com.
The report found:
- Homes sold in 53 days in October, 13 days faster than last year and one day faster than September.
- The median listing price grew 12.2 percent year-over-year to $350,000 in October. This is an acceleration from September when prices grew by 11.1 percent.
- Nationally, the number of homes for sale was down 38.3 percent, amounting to roughly half a million fewer homes for sale than last year.
In a normal year, prices would have dropped 1 to 4 percent from summer’s price peak by October.
“Drawn in by low mortgage rates and the hope of more space, buyers have stayed in the housing market this fall, keeping prices high and pushing time on market to unseasonable lows,” Hale said. “Although we saw growth in newly listed properties in the Northeast and West this month, we’ll need a consistent wave of fresh homes hitting the market in order to better match persistent buyer demand.”
Here is a look at the number of newly listed homes by metropolitan area:
| Metro | New Listing Count YoY | Median Listing Price YoY | Median Listing Price | Median Days on Market | Active Listing Count YoY |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. | 30.6% | 8.1% | $1,199,100 | 34 | -18.5% |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. | 28.2% | 15.1% | $639,100 | 58 | -6.1% |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif. | 25.9% | 11.6% | $1,049,100 | 35 | -4.2% |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif. | 17.2% | 16.9% | $995,100 | 49 | -22.9% |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn. | 15.9% | 7.1% | $300,000 | 41 | -31.3% |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H. | 15.1% | 13.9% | $669,100 | 33 | -29.4% |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash. | 12.5% | 6.4% | $625,000 | 35 | -31.6% |
| Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, Calif. | 11.3% | 12.3% | $549,100 | 35 | -48.4% |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis. | 9.9% | 2.4% | $348,000 | 37 | -30.1% |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-Va.- Md.-W. Va. | 5.4% | 4.6% | $502,100 | 36 | -36.7% |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev. | 0.4% | 7.9% | $345,300 | 41 | -7.8% |
| San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif. | -0.6% | 11.2% | $795,100 | 24 | -25.4% |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. | -1.2% | 16.7% | $349,100 | 48 | -41.8% |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo. | -2.0% | 5.0% | $520,000 | 36 | -44.2% |
| Birmingham-Hoover, Ala. | -2.4% | 1.7% | $260,000 | 51 | -36.1% |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore.-Wash. | -2.7% | 9.1% | $510,100 | 49 | -44.0% |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. | -3.8% | 14.6% | $470,100 | 41 | -53.6% |
| Rochester, N.Y. | -3.9% | 12.9% | $228,700 | 31 | -43.3% |
| St. Louis, Mo.-Ill. | -4.4% | 10.3% | $248,000 | 56 | -38.4% |
| Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.- N.C. | -4.9% | 6.9% | $320,600 | 39 | -46.7% |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md. | -7.3% | 4.6% | $340,000 | 43 | -51.4% |
| Raleigh, N.C. | -7.3% | 6.8% | $390,000 | 49 | -45.4% |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis. | -7.6% | 3.8% | $300,000 | 42 | -39.2% |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas | -7.6% | 7.8% | $334,100 | 52 | -32.8% |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. | -7.9% | 9.5% | $345,000 | 43 | -32.6% |
| Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, N.Y. | -8.2% | 7.5% | $215,000 | 52 | -46.7% |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. | -8.2% | 10.0% | $308,000 | 48 | -43.0% |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla. | -8.8% | 2.5% | $410,100 | 93 | -15.6% |
| Austin-Round Rock, Texas | -9.0% | 15.9% | $413,200 | 46 | -47.7% |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla. | -9.2% | 1.6% | $325,000 | 59 | -20.9% |
| Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio | -9.3% | 3.2% | $200,000 | 47 | -48.2% |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. | -9.3% | 7.7% | $415,600 | 36 | -41.8% |
| Pittsburgh, Pa. | -9.4% | N/A | $245,100 | 57 | -36.8% |
| Providence-Warwick, R.I.-Mass. | -10.3% | 6.1% | $400,000 | 42 | -52.5% |
| Kansas City, Mo.-Kan. | -11.1% | 10.1% | $330,100 | 47 | -48.7% |
| New Orleans-Metairie, La. | -12.8% | 15.7% | $329,100 | 64 | -39.1% |
| Cincinnati, Ohio-Ky.-Ind. | -13.7% | 16.3% | $310,000 | 39 | -44.9% |
| Oklahoma City, Okla. | -15.4% | 6.6% | $270,000 | 48 | -40.5% |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas | -16.0% | 3.6% | $300,000 | 53 | -40.8% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas | -16.1% | 4.1% | $356,000 | 47 | -46.8% |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, Ky.-Ind. | -17.4% | 2.2% | $258,100 | 35 | -50.2% |
| Columbus, Ohio | -17.5% | 9.0% | $305,100 | 35 | -47.8% |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga. | -18.8% | 10.6% | $355,100 | 46 | -45.5% |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Ind. | -19.8% | 5.7% | $275,000 | 43 | -47.8% |
| Jacksonville, Fla. | -20.4% | 2.6% | $318,100 | 55 | -45.5% |
| Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark. | -21.7% | 14.0% | $263,800 | 45 | -49.3% |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Mich | -21.7% | 12.4% | $269,100 | 38 | -47.4% |
| Richmond, Va. | -21.8% | 11.7% | $357,000 | 45 | -48.2% |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C. | -22.9% | 9.0% | $365,400 | 43 | -48.7% |
| Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, Tenn. | -27.5% | 8.1% | $400,000 | 32 | -43.6% |