Nineteen days and a little over $1 million is all that it took for a house to sell in San Francisco in April according to the RE/MAX National Housing Report for April. The report revealed that home sales increased 2.3 percent across the country during the month as record low inventories continued to trouble the market.
San Francisco, especially, turned out to be at the top of the hottest markets with the city’s metro area median sales price surpassing $1 million and the average days on market for homes in the city being the lowest at 19 days.
RE/MAX reported large double-digit price increases in Las Vegas, Seattle, and Boise also. Three metro areas—Trenton, New Jersey; Birmingham, Alabama; and Wilmington/Dover, Delaware—saw a year-over-year decrease in median sale prices.
Nationally, the median home price set a record for April at $243,000, only slightly down from the June 2017 peak of $245,000, but rising 7.5 percent from the same period a year ago. Days on the market for homes also reduced. The average days on market decreasing by five days to 52 in April compared to the same period a year ago.
“If 2018 is like recent years, we’re only two months away from home prices peaking. We’re already seeing some impressive price movements in markets through the U.S.,” said Adam Contos, CEO, RE/MAX. “As we head into summer, we’ll watch several housing markers like home starts, mortgage applications, and sales price to gauge the effect they’ll have on inventory across the country — the good news is that the rate of sales helps accommodate a shrinking inventory and buyers can still find opportunities.”
Of the 53 markets studied by RE/MAX, 38 posted more sales than April 2017, while 2.5 months of supply inventory tied March as the lowest ever in the history of the report, RE/MAX said. When it came to home sales, they increased 3.6 percent month over month in April but only 2.3 percent when compared to the same period last year. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, led the market in home sales with a 13.4 percent increase, followed by Burlington, Vermont (12.1 percent); Albuquerque, New Mexico (11.1 percent); and New Orleans, Louisiana (9.1 percent).