More than half of homes that went on the market in the United States earlier this month had an offer within the first two weeks, according to a new report released by Redfin. The report found that 55 percent of houses locked in an offer within two weeks for the week ending January 24. Over the last month, 43 percent of homes had an offer in two weeks – well above the 35 percent rate last year at this time. “Buyers are incredibly hungry for listings, but unfortunately there isn’t much to choose from, and that scarcity is making buyers all the more frenzied,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather said. “As a result, the majority of the homes that hit…
There may be an upside for the young adults who were forced to move back home with their parents during the pandemic: Homeownership may be within reach sooner than they think. A new report released Thursday by realtor.com found that saving the one-bedroom median rent of $1,533 means that it would take 11 months to save $17,000 – enough for a 5 percent down payment on a $340,000 home, the median-priced home in the United States. “Although many members of the millennial and Gen Z generations were forced to move home because they lost their jobs in 2020, others chose to forgo their rental because they had the opportunity to work remotely and preferred to wait out the pandemic with…
The official results are in, and house prices continue to soar. The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Home Price Index released Tuesday showed prices were up 1 percent in November for the month – and a whopping 11 percent from November 2019 to November 2020. “House prices have risen by at least one percent for six consecutive months,” said Dr. Lynn Fisher, FHFA’s Deputy Director of the Division of Research and Statistics. “The acceleration has been slowing but annual gains now outpace the prior housing boom. Current conditions can be explained by fundamentals, including low rates and tight housing supply, which have been intensified by the pandemic.” For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly house price changes from October 2020…
Fueled by record-low interest rates and scarce inventory, home value growth surged in December by 3.2 percent over the previous quarter – the largest increase in at least a quarter century, according to a new report released by Zillow. Typical home values in the U.S. climbed to $266,104 in December, up 8.4 percent from a year earlier – the highest annual increase since January 2014. “The housing market ended 2020 with an exclamation point, as home values rose sharply near the end of the year at their fastest quarterly rate on record,” said Jeff Tucker, senior economist at Zillow. “Sales are taking place at a rapid clip as momentum gathering in the market since June is still pushing forward at…
Would you move somewhere else if you were allowed to work remotely on a permanent basis? A survey released Tuesday by Redfin found that two-thirds of US homebuyers and sellers would consider moving (or already have) to a new city if they could work at home on a full-time basis. The survey of 1,400 people who bought or sold a home within the last year or plan to buy or sell a home in the next year found: 34 percent of buyers/sellers have already moved to a different city or area.33 percent would like to move to a different city or area.30 percent of respondents said they have already moved less than 50 miles away from their former home.23 percent…
Home building employment withstood the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the National Association of Home Builders reported Monday. From May through December, 472,500 residential construction jobs were created – more than offsetting the 456,800 such jobs that were lost in March and April due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Residential construction jobs surged by 22,700 in December. Comparatively, non-residential construction recovered just 61 percent of the jobs that were lost in March and April. Residential construction employment now stands at 3.0 million in December, including 848,000 builders and 2.1 million residential specialty trade contractors, NAHB reported. The six-month moving average of job gains for residential construction was 27,000 a month. Over the last 12 months, home builders and remodelers added 57,200 jobs on a…
The number of “million-dollar cities” surged significantly last year as home values climbed amid the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report released Monday by Zillow. There are now 312 cities where the typical home value is at least $1 million, with 45 added to the list in 2020, the Zillow analysis found. Overall, the typical value of a home in the United States is $263,000. “In 2020 home values soared nationwide because of incredible demand across all price tiers, which we expect to continue well into 2021,” Zillow senior economist Chris Glynn said. “Despite the label, there are homes available in these communities for less than $1 million, but buyers must be realistic about their wish list and act quickly…
The number houses for sale in the United States reached a record low in December, realtor.com reported Thursday in its Monthly Housing Trends Report. There were fewer than 700,000 homes for sale in the US for the first time in the report’s history. The report found: The number of homes for sale was down 39.6 percent – which amounts to 449,000 fewer homes for sale than last December.The median listing price grew 13.4 percent over last year to $340,000.Homes sold in 66 days on average in December, which is 13 days faster than last year. “The shortage of homes for sale has been an ongoing issue for the last couple of years, but in December the combination of the holiday…
The value for Black and Latino-owned homes lags behind overall home values, but the gap is narrowing, according to a new analysis released Tuesday by Zillow. The analysis found that Black and Latino-owned homes are worth 16.2 percent and 10.2 percent less than the typical U.S. home – values that have closed by roughly 4 percentage points in recent years. “It has taken nearly a decade for the home value gap to return to pre-recession levels, but still, the gap remains very large,” Zillow economist Treh Manhertz said. “With Black and brown communities and jobs hit disproportionately hard in the pandemic, there has been reason to worry another dip may be on the horizon that could slow or stop the…
Pending home sales declined for the month in November but remained significantly higher than a year earlier, according to a new report released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors. Contract signings were up 16.4 percent from November 2019 – and were a record high for the month of November. Still, sales decreased 2.6 percent from October. “The latest monthly decline is largely due to the shortage of inventory and fast-rising home prices,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “It is important to keep in mind that the current sales and prices are far stronger than a year ago.” Regionally, the Northeast Pending Home Sales Index was 15.3 percent higher than November 2019 (and down 3.3 percent for the month),…
