Home Sales Surge 24%, the Biggest Gain on Record, Prices up 14% in October
SEATTLE, Nov. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- (NASDAQ: RDFN) — The national median home price posted the second-largest annual increase on record in October, when it rose
"October very well may have been the hottest the housing market gets this year," said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. "Buyers who stepped away from the market at the beginning of the pandemic had been making up for lost time, which sent prices skyrocketing. But given that we are entering a winter wave of the pandemic, housing demand will likely lose a bit of steam until 2021, cooling the market from red-hot to just hot. If you are a seller, it's probably a good idea to wait until the new year to list your home, but if you are a buyer, right now is a short window of opportunity where competition likely won't be as intense as it was in October."
"The market has definitely slowed in just the last couple of weeks, said Atlanta Redfin real estate agent Ronisha Carson. "Affordable homes are still seeing multiple offers, but more expensive listings are receiving less interest from buyers. Even though homebuying activity has slowed down, I have had three sellers reach out to me just this week to get on the market. Last year we saw a spike in demand in January and I think we will see that again in 2021."
Median prices increased in all but one of the 85 largest metro areas Redfin tracks. The only metro area where prices fell from a year earlier was Honolulu (-
It's likely that the big price gains in Bridgeport and Newark are due to the rush of people moving out of New York City in search of more space now that remote work has become more commonplace.
Market Summary | October 2020 | Month-Over-Month | Year-Over-Year |
Median sale price | |||
Homes sold, seasonally-adjusted | 657,900 | ||
Pending sales, seasonally-adjusted | 617,700 | ||
New listings, seasonally-adjusted | 691,200 | ||
All homes for sale, seasonally-adjusted | 1,658,700 | - | - |
Median days on market | 28 | -1 | -15 |
Months of supply | 1.5 | -0.1 | -1.4 |
Sold above list | 0.7 pts† | 12.7 pts† | |
Median Off-Market Redfin Estimate | |||
Average Sale-to-list | 0.1 pts† | 1.3 pts† | |
† - "pts" = percentage point change |
Home sales were up
The number of homes sold in October was up from a year earlier in all 85 of the largest metro areas. The largest gains in sales were in Bridgeport, CT (+
Active listings—the count of all homes that were for sale at any time during the month—fell
Only three of the 85 largest metros tracked by Redfin posted a year-over-year increase in the count of seasonally-adjusted active listings of homes for sale: San Francisco (+
Compared to a year ago, the biggest declines in active housing supply in October were in Allentown, PA (-
The number of new listings of homes for sale increased
Measures of competition such as time on market and the share of homes sold above list price hit new records in October as they once again bucked the usual seasonal trend. This ongoing market dynamic is the result of a severe imbalance between the number of homebuyers and sellers in the market.
The typical home that sold in October went under contract in 28 days—16 days less than a year earlier, and a new all-time low.
Typically by this time of year, the market is well into a seasonal pattern where homes spend more time on the market and the share of homes that sell above list price declines. This year, seasonality is out the window as the market stays hot despite the ongoing pandemic and recession.
In October
To read the full report, including charts and additional metro-level data highlights, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/home-sales-surge-24-percent/.
About Redfin
Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered residential real estate company, redefining real estate in the consumer's favor in a commission-driven industry. We do this by integrating every step of the home buying and selling process and pairing our own agents with our own technology, creating a service that is faster, better and costs less. We offer brokerage, iBuying, mortgage, and title services, and we also run the country's #1 real estate brokerage search site, offering a host of online tools to consumers, including the Redfin Estimate. We represent people buying and selling homes in over 90 markets in the United States and Canada. Since our launch in 2006, we have saved our customers over
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. To be added to Redfin's press release distribution list, email press@redfin.com. To view Redfin's press center, click here.
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SOURCE Redfin