Home Prices Reach New High
The real estate market continues to break records
Housing demand has been exceptionally high to where it is driving home prices to reach new levels. According to a recent release from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) for the month of March we have seen record breaking home prices as well as year-over-year gains in the total number of sales of homes in all 4 major regions of the United States.
While home sales were up this year over last year at this time, there was a slight decline in sales from the month before. The lack of inventory is still creating challenges with not enough options for eager buyers.
"The sales for March would have been measurably higher, had there been more inventory," he added. "Days-on-market are swift, multiple offers are prevalent, and buyer confidence is rising."
Noteworthy Market Statistics
Total housing inventory levels were down 28.2% from one year ago with unsold inventory sitting at just over a two month supply at the current sales pace. Total inventory numbers are near all time lows since NAR first began tracking numbers of inventory back in 1982.
Despite any fluctuations in mortgage rates, they are still remaining low with a promising forecast for the year. The average for a fixed rate mortgage was 3.08% during the month of March which was lower than all of 2020’s average of 3.11%.
The median existing home price for all types of properties for the month of March was now surpassing the $300,000 threshold coming in at $329,100. This was up by 17.2% over last year at this time with price gains showing for all major regions. This also marks the 109th month in a row for year-over-year increases.
The average number of days on the market for properties for sale in March was only a mere 18 days. This was down from the 20 days seen the month prior and roughly half of March of 2020 at 29 days. The bulk of the number of homes sold in March were on the market for less than one month.
NAR shares their forecast by stating "At least half of the adult population has received a COVID-19 vaccination, according to reports, and recent housing starts and job creation data show encouraging dynamics of more supply and strong demand in the housing sector."