SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--U.S. home prices rose 4.7 percent in December as inventory declined 12.7 percent, according to Redfin (www.redfin.com), the next-generation real estate brokerage. Home sales were flat, growing just 0.5 percent from December 2015.
Despite lackluster home sales volume, the extreme shortage of homes on the market made for the fastest December on record since Redfin began keeping track in 2010. Last month, the typical home went under contract in 54 days -- five days faster than a year earlier.
Among homes sold in December, nearly one-third (32.7%) went under contract within two weeks, the largest reduction in inventory in any single month Redfin has on record.
“We’ve never before seen homes turn over so quickly at a national level,” said Redfin Chief Economist Nela Richardson. “This tells us that buyers are not deterred by low inventory, election uncertainty and slightly higher mortgage rates. If anything, these headwinds are motivating them to act sooner rather than later.”
Regional Highlights from December:
- Seattle, WA, was the fastest market, with half of all homes pending sale in just 19 days, down from 24 days a year earlier. Oakland, CA, and Denver, CO, were the next fastest markets, both posting a median of 22 days on market, followed by Grand Rapids, MI (23), and Boston, MA (26).
- Seattle also had the nation’s highest price growth, rising 14.8% since last December to $459,975.
- Six metros saw price declines in December. Baton Rouge, LA, saw its home prices decline the most since last December, falling 7.7 percent to $175,370.
- 13 out of 90 metros saw sales increase by double digits from last December. Poughkeepsie, NY, led the nation in year-over-year sales growth, up 57.9%, followed by Madison, WI, up 32.0%. Detroit, MI, rounded out the top three with sales up 30.8% from a year earlier.
- Detroit, MI, had the largest decrease in overall inventory, falling 31.2% since December 2015. Rochester, NH (-30.7%), Portsmouth, NH (-29.4%), and Rochester, NY (-28.7%), also saw far fewer homes available on the market than in late 2015.
To read the full report, complete with data and charts, please visit the following link: https://www.redfin.com/blog/2017/01/housing-market-tracker-december-2016.html.
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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.
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