How Hot is the Housing Market? Homes Haven’t Sold This Fast in Eight Years

Looking for a new home? Well, the one you want might be sold already. That’s because houses are selling faster right now than they have at any point since at least 2012.

A new report from Redfin, the online real estate brokerage, shows that the typical home sold in November spent only 27 days on the market. That’s 18 days faster than last year and the lowest on record since Redfin began tracking the data in 2012.

As Redfin notes, that’s hardly the only indicator of how competitive the housing market is right now.

Beyond how quickly homes are selling, more homes are selling above their listing price than they have in Redfin’s eight years of monitoring home sales.

According to Redfin, approximately 35% of homes sold in November sold above asking price, up from 21% in the same month last year.

Home prices are also accelerating much faster than they have in the recent past. Per Redfin’s data, the national median home price in November increased by 14% over the same month last year to $335,519, the second highest year-over-year increase since 2012.

As Redfin notes, median home prices rose in all of the 85 largest housing markets that the site monitors. In some markets, like Bridgeport, Connecticut; Newark, New Jersey; and Memphis, Tennessee; home prices were up 20% or more over last year.

The number of homes sold was also up over last year in almost every market Redfin tracks. The only market where homes sold dipped was Honolulu.

As for why the market is so hot, the refrain remains the same: there are simply not enough houses for sale.

According to Redfin, November’s closed home sales rose by 23% from 2019, pending sales were up 37%, but new listings were up just 8%.

Only two of the 85 biggest markets saw an increase in homes for sale, San Francisco and New York City, as homeowners in those expensive markets are looking to sell and move to more reasonably priced markets now that they may not have to live where they work anymore.

That lack of inventory is leading to more competition for the homes that are coming on the market, which is driving prices up, in many cases above asking, and leading to homes flying off the market.