The median price of homes in the U.S. rose to an all-time high during the week ended Dec. 19, up 15% from the prior-year period to $360,500, according to a new Redfin report. Meanwhile housing inventory continues to drop and has hit another all-time low.
Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather said that as available home-sale inventory continues to hit new lows each week, those in the market for new homes can’t help but feel that the “well is running dry.”
“Fewer homes are selling because of a lack of supply, while demand remains strong,” he said in a press release. “That’s why home prices continue to climb higher and higher. But once mortgage rates increase in 2022, I expect the rate of price growth to slow down significantly.”
During the four weeks ended Dec. 19, asking prices rose 14% from the year before and 29% from 2019 to $347,475, while pending home sales rose 0.1% year over year and 49% from 2019.
New listings were down 9% from last year, but up 11% from 2019, marking the largest two-year increase since September.
Redfin said 42% of all homes went under contract with an accepted offer within the first two weeks of being listed, up from 36% a year before and 25% at the same time in 2019.
Additionally, the report noted a 3% week-over-week decrease in mortgage applications during the week ended Dec. 17. Thirty-year mortgage rates inched up to 3.12% for the week ended Dec. 16.