Inventory Grows from June While
Home Prices, Sales Take Seasonal Dip

July inventory uncharacteristically climbed 4.0% from June, marking the first two consecutive months of month-over-month inventory gains since April and May 2019. At the same time, July’s 1.3 Months of Inventory set a new report low for the month. July home sales were the third largest total in the report’s 13-year history, although they declined 8.4% from June – a seasonal norm. The July median home price of $331,000 decreased 1.2% from June’s record $335,000.

With year-over-year comparisons skewed by the pandemic, June-to-July averages for 2015-2019 illustrate what’s typical in mid-summer:

• The month-over-month decline of 1.2% in July’s Median Sales Price was less than the 2015-2019 average June-to-July drop of 2.2%. Year over year, the Median Sales Price is up 16.2%.

• The 4.0% increase in month-over-month inventory was atypical for this time of year – and a far cry from the 2015-2019 average June-to-July decline of 1.6%. Although this marked the second consecutive month of gain (June inventory grew 1.9% from May), inventory remains down 29.7% year-over-year.

• The third largest total in the 13-year history of the report, July 2021 home sales dropped 8.4% – nearly identical to the 2015-2019 average decline of 8.2%. Year over year, sales were down 3.1%. The only months with more sales than July 2021 were June 2021 and July 2020.

July’s average Days on Market of 23 was one day less than June and 21 days faster compared to the same time last year. July’s 1.3 Months Supply of Inventory was identical to June’s, but significantly less than July 2020’s 2.0 Months Supply.

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Record Home Sales, Record Prices,
Growing Inventory

June created the perfect trifecta for a hot housing market: June home sales and prices both set report records, while inventory grew for the first time in 15 months.

The month of June, typically the biggest month of the year for home sales, saw sales soar 14.2% over a strong May and top all other months in the 13-year history of the report, which spans 53 metro markets. The Median Sales Price of $336,000 was also a report record, eclipsing the previous record of $320,000 – set in April and tied in May – by 4.9%.

The number of homes for sale, meanwhile, grew 1.9% over May – the first increase since March 2020. Inventory, however, still remained 37.5% below June 2020 levels.

With year-over-year comparisons skewed by the pandemic, May-to-June averages for 2015-2019 are helpful in illustrating what’s typical at this time of year. June has been the top month for home sales in four of the past six years:

• June 2021 home sales increased 14.2% month over month, more than doubling the 6.4% average gain from May to June in 2015-2019. Year over year, sales were up 26.4%.

• June’s Median Sales Price of $336,000 was 4.9% over May’s, very similar to the typical May-to-June increase of 4.6%. Year over year, June’s price is 21.9% higher than June 2020’s $275,000.

• The 1.9% increase in inventory from May to June was far greater than the typical gain of 0.6%. Still, inventory was down 37.5% year over year.

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Red Hot Market Cools Slightly, Stabilizing Prices

The typical May ramp-up in home sales didn’t happen last month, as sales dipped 0.2% from April and home prices were uncharacteristically flat in the report’s 53 metro areas.

Also defying seasonal trends was a 7.1% drop in listed homes at a time of year when active inventory is normally building for peak summer sales months. But two other metrics confirm that the frenzied sellers market marches on: Months Supply of Inventory dropped to 1.1 months and homes changed hands in a mere 28 days. Both are records in the 13-year history of the report.

With year-over-year comparisons heavily skewed by the pandemic, April-to-May averages for 2015-2019 show what is typical:

• While May 2021 home sales declined 0.2% month over month, 13.9% is the 2015-2019 average gain from April to May. Year over year, sales were up 53.4%.
• May’s Median Sales Price of $320,000 was the same as April’s, compared to the typical April-to-May increase of 3.2%. Year over year, May’s price is 17.0% higher than May 2020’s $273,498.
• Instead of the 7.1% decline from April to May, inventory typically grows by 1.8%. Year over year, inventory was down 43.0%.

May’s average Days on Market from listing to going under contract of 28 shaved four days off of April and represented a faster sale by 18 days compared to May 2020.

May’s 1.1 Months Supply of Inventory compares to 1.3 in April, and 2.9 in May 2020.

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Homes Sell at Record Speed
as Median Price Reaches All-Time High

On average, April home sales took just 32 days from listing to going under contract, while the Median Sales Price rose to $320,000 – both new records in the 13-year history of the report. These stats, and other key indicators, including a report record April for sales, signal a potentially torrid market going into the traditional peak sales months of May through August.

April home sales in the report’s 53 metro areas were up 5.3% over March, slightly topping the five-year March-to-April average gain of 5.0% from 2015-2019. In contrast, home sales in 2020 dropped 13.7% from March to April as pandemic-related stay-at-home orders were in effect in many states.

Limited inventory remains a primary issue. However, with more homes coming onto the market in April, recent double-digit, month-to-month declines in active inventory dropped to just 2.4% from March to April. Still, year over year, inventory was down 42.2%. Additional context:

• Months Supply of Inventory reached a record low of 1.1, compared to the previous report record of 1.3 in March.
• Home sales were the highest for April in report history and marked the 10th highest month in the past 13 years.
• April’s record low of 32 Days on Market trimmed four days off the previous report record of 36 days set in November 2020 – a significant change from April 2020’s 46 days.
• The Median Sale Price jumped 5.9% over March and was the highest month-to-month increase since 6.2% from May to June 2019.

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Median Home Price Tops $300,000
as Speed of Sales Shrinks Inventory

March home sales jumped by one-third over February’s total as demand from hordes of eager homebuyers pushed the Median Sales Price above $300,000 for the first time in the 13-year history of the report. Meanwhile, the pace of sales accelerated – to the fastest rate on record for the month of March – dropping an already strained housing inventory to nearly half of what it was a year ago.

Although year-over-year comparisons are skewed by the start of pandemic restrictions in mid-March 2020, housing activity in the report’s 53 markets nationwide last month hit several notable milestones and barely missed another, including:

• The Median Sales Price of $303,000 rose 4.5% above the previous report record of $290,050 in February – and was 14.3% higher year over year.
• Inventory dropped to a new report low for the ninth consecutive month and was 45.2% lower year over year.
• Average Months Supply of Inventory set a report record of 1.1, eclipsing the previous low of 1.7 months in February. The figure for March 2020 was 3.2 months of available supply.
• The average Days on Market of 38 was 16 days less than March 2020 and just two days more than the report record of 36 set last November. March was only the fifth month in report history with average Days on Market under 40. All five times have occurred in the past seven months.

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Prices Rise, Inventory Falls
but Sales Stay High as Spring Approaches

The median home price reached $291,000 in February – the highest in the 13-year history of the report – while sales set a new high for the month and inventory continued to drop to record lows.

The record February home sales were up 5.7% year over year, but the increase over January was flat at 0.3%. The February-over-January average for the previous five years has been 5.4% in the ramp-up toward the seasonally higher sales of spring.

The Median Sales Price across the report’s 53 metro areas topped the previous high of $290,000 reached in August and tied in October and December during last year’s housing surge. In February of last year, the Median Sales Price was $260,000.

At the same time, February’s Months Supply of Inventory was down 11.9% from January’s and 42% year-over-year, as buyers continued to close on properties in greater numbers than sellers opted to list their homes. Inventory has declined month over month for 20 of the past 21 months.

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Sales Approach Pre-COVID Rate of Increase While Inventory and Days on Market Dwindle

• Home Sales increased 13.5% over January 2020
• Inventory decreased 35.7% to 1.7 months supply (a balanced market is 4-6 months)
• Average Days on Market was 40, compared to 59 last year
• Median Sale Price was $285,000, an increase of 11.8% over January 2020

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Strong December Home Sales,
Big Second Half of 2020
Set the Stage for Potentially Historic 2021

December home sales increased 6.2% over November and 21.9% year-over-year, capping a record-breaking second half of 2020 that set new overall monthly benchmarks for most sales, highest price, lowest inventory and quickest closings.

Although December is typically a month with fewer sales, December 2020 ranked 5th in highest number of home sales for the year – and its sales exceeded all but two months of 2019.

Down 17.9% from November 2020 and 33.0% from December 2019, December 2020 established a record low for inventory in the 13-year history of the report. It also set multiple new December records:

• Average Days on Market of 37, over two weeks less than the 53 days a year ago.
• Median Sales Price of $290,000 – up 9.4% year-over-year.
• Months of Supply of Inventory at 1.8, which was less than half of December 2019’s 3.9.

After the pandemic’s initial impact on the housing market last spring and early summer, 2020 ultimately posted a number of highlights in the report’s history:

• Home Sales: 5 of the top 10 months of sales since 2008 occurred in 2020 – July (the new record), August, September, October and December
• Inventory: 7 of the top 10 months with the lowest inventory; August through December became the five lowest months in report history, with each month’s inventory lower than the previous month’s
• Days on Market: 5 of the top 10 months with the report’s fewest Days on Market; September through December comprise the four months with the fastest average time for listing to sale
• Median Sales Price: 9 of the top 10 months with the highest Median Sales Price; at $290,000, August, November and December tied with the highest mark in report history

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Monthly Home Sales Up
Nearly 20 Percent from a Year Ago

The housing market continued its extraordinary half-year run of high activity, with November 2020 home sales up almost 20% over November 2019 – establishing a new high for the month in the 13-year history of the report.

November did experience the normal seasonal decline from October, with home sales decreasing 14.5% month-to-month, but that drop was in line with the 12% average of the past five years. In fact, November 2020 broke several records for the RE/MAX National Housing Report, and inventory reached its lowest point since the report debuted in 2008.

In addition to Home Sales that eclipsed the previous high for November, set in 2017, new November records reflecting averages across 52 U.S. markets included:

• The Median Sales Price of $292,000 was up 13.8% from November 2019
• Days on Market was a mere 36 – down nearly two weeks from last year’s 49
• Months Supply of Inventory totaled 1.8 – only slightly more than the report record low of 1.7 set in August

Home sales continued to far outnumber new listings. November was the fourth consecutive month of 2020 to set a new report record for fewest listings.

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Homes Sell at Fastest Pace in Over a Decade

For the first time since 2009, homes sold faster in October than the preceding summer peak season, according to the RE/MAX National Housing Report. And across 52 markets, the average of 38 days from listing to contract marked the fastest pace of any month in the report’s 13-year history.

Defying seasonality in a year upended by the pandemic, October sales were the third-highest year-to-date. Home sales were slightly up compared to September 2020 (+0.1%), and 20.8% ahead of October 2019. The Median Sales Price of $295,000, which was 0.9% higher than September’s median price and 15.4% higher year-over-year, set a report record for October.

Reflecting an abundance of home buyers and a shortage of sellers, inventory fell 32.5% year-over-year to set another report record.

October’s average Days on Market of 38 was one day less than September and down 11 days year-over-year. The average Months Supply of Inventory at 1.7 tied July and August for the smallest in report history, with a handful of markets reporting less than a one-month supply.

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