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Housing Prices Surge and Listing Times Decline During April

house-graphupWhile April continues a 19-month trend of decline in the number of houses on the national market, down 13.3 percent, Redfin [1] reports, market demand continues to surge, causing rising prices and decreased median time from listing to going under contract. Many houses acro
ss the country are also selling above their asking price.

The average price of homes across the country rose 6.2 percent to a median price of $280,000, almost six times the total annual increase in 2016. Milwaukee, Wisconsin boasted the nation’s highest price increase at 18.2 percent, followed closely by Greenville, South Carolina at 17.6 percent. Other notable markets were: Seattle, Washington; Deltona, Florida; and Tampa, Florida at 17.4, 14.8, and 13.8 percent respectively. Only two markets saw a decline in prices for the month of April: Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Greensboro, North Carolina, but neither saw drops greater than 1.2 percent.

Regions that saw the highest increase in the number of sales from a year prior were Poughkeepsie, New York (36 percent), Baltimore, Maryland (31 percent), and Camden, New Jersey (28 percent). 18 out of 90 regions saw an increase in the number of homes for sale, while Buffalo, New York and Ogden, Utah saw a decrease in the number of homes for sale by nearly 20 percent.

Over 20 percent of homes in the United States also sold above their asking price. Areas in California, including San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland had over 60 percent of houses listed sell above their asking price. Washington is also a highly sought after state, with Seattle and Tacoma both having over 50 percent of their houses selling over the listed price. Conversely, zero percent of homes sold above their asking price in Kansas City, Missouri.

Average time from listing to contract also saw record breaking numbers in April at 40 days, down from 50 days a year prior. Nationwide, one in five homes closed within two weeks of appearing on the market. Houses were snatched up the quickest in Denver, Colorado, at an average of six days, while Seattle, Washington made an appearance yet again with an average of seven days on the market.

Given the data, it would seem that it is a good time to sell. Areas such as Fort Meyers, Florida; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Austin, Texas all had between a 10 and 29 percent increase in the number of homes for sale compared to 2016.

Nela Richardson, a chief economist for Redfin, foresees this surge in the housing market to continue through May and June, in line with industry standards. She says, “…I wouldn’t be surprised if new records for speed and competition are reached in May and June given what we are seeing now. The only record this market can’t break is sales. You need more inventory for that!”

Will May and June continue to be record breaking months for the speed of sale on listed houses and increased home prices, or will the market level out? Only time will tell.