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New Highs for Existing Home Sales

home pricesEven during the winter months, as homebuying tends to taper off, the 2020 market, in many parts of the county, was unseasonably active as buyers made up for missed spring and summer opportunities. That's according to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, which covers November 2020 home prices.

"With existing home sales up over 20% from a year ago, S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index clocked a 9.49% surge in November – a new high since February 2014," said CoreLogic Deputy Chief Economist Selma Hepp. She added that "buyer competition reached a new peak nationally in October and November when the ratio climbed to 0.996 – the highest level since 2008, when the data series began."

CoreLogic's high Buyer/Seller Market Indicator showed that most home sellers were receiving the asking price, Hepp pointed out.

"With buyer demand continuing to outpace the previous year’s levels amid historically lowest inventory of for-sale homes, the pressure on home prices is going to fuel home price growth in the first half of 2021,” she said.

Realtor.com economist Danielle Hale breaks down regional data, explaining that "the 10- and 20-city index figures also posted strong 8.8% and 9.1% increases, respectively, with markets in the West — Phoenix, Seattle, and San Diego — continuing to lead the list of cities with the highest price gains. Notably, even the cities registering the slowest price growth, Las Vegas and Dallas, showed above-normal price gains, at roughly 7%."

Hale says that looking ahead, early data on 2021 indicate that home prices continue to push double-digit growth over one year prior, suggesting that additional gains are ahead for the Case Shiller Index, too.

"Our 2021 outlook expects an eventual moderation to price gains as home construction ramps up and the widespread availability of COVID vaccines bring more flexible sellers back to the housing market, but it will be some time before these changes bring relief."

About Author: Christina Hughes Babb

Christina Hughes Babb is a reporter for DS News and MReport. A graduate of Southern Methodist University, she has been a reporter, editor, and publisher in the Dallas area for more than 15 years. During her 10 years at Advocate Media/Dallas Magazine, she published thousands of articles covering local politics, real estate, development, crime, the arts, entertainment, and human interest, among other topics. She has won two national Mayborn School of Journalism Ten Spurs awards for nonfiction, and has penned pieces for Texas Monthly, Salon.com, Dallas Observer, Edible, and the Dallas Morning news, among others. Contact Christina at [email protected].
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