Home Prices Jump in December, Posting Biggest Increase in Almost Two Years - Redfin Real Estate News

Home Prices Jump in December, Posting Biggest Increase in Almost Two Years

by
Updated on October 6th, 2020
National housing market tracker

Home prices rose 8.8 percent in December from a year ago, the biggest increase in 22 months. Sales were strong too, up 7.7 percent despite a lack of supply that’s challenging homebuyers. There were fewer homes for sale in December than in any month of 2015.

Market Summary December 2015 Month-Over-Month Year-Over-Year
Median sale price $267,500 1.6% 8.8%
Homes sold 164,300 22.7% 7.7%
New listings 130,300 -21.8% 3.3%
All Homes for sale 488,600 -10.3% -5.4%
Median days on market 41 0 -7
Off market in 2 weeks 25.9% -0.9% 4.5%
Months of supply 3 -1.1 -0.4
Sold above list 17.3% -0.8% 2.1%
Average Sale-to-list 91.1% -0.3% 0.1%

Typically, home prices slow along with sales in December. Last month, however, prices spiked due to a dearth of properties on the market. In December, there was a three-month supply of homes for sale, a steep slide from the 4.1 months reported in November. The lack of inventory supported a fast market, where the typical home sold in 41 days, a week faster than a year ago.
“In early December, I had five new listings, all of which received offers within about the first week,”  said Christy Alwin, a Redfin agent in Naperville, Ill. “Four had multiple offers. In the end, they were all under contract in less than 18 days. Inventory is low and buyers pounce on new listings as soon as they are available.”

national-median-sale-price

Sales rose 7.7 percent year-over-year, compared to 2.8 percent the previous month, continuing a recent pattern of sales rebounding in December from November. In 2014, December sales grew 9.7 percent after dropping 0.7 percent in November. This seasonal trend casts doubt on the theory that a new mortgage rule, known as TRID or Know Before You Owe, had a significant impact on November or December sales volume.  
In total, there were nearly 2 million homes sold (1,969,814 to be exact) in 68 markets tracked by Redfin in 2015, leading to a strong 9.6 percent increase from 2014.

national-home-sales

Other December Highlights

Prices

  • The median sale price in Hudson Valley, NY, climbed 15.1% from November, posting the biggest gains of any market. Year over year, prices were up 6.3%.
  • Twenty-two metro areas continued their double-digit, year-over-year price growth in December, including San Jose (19%), Tacoma, WA, (13.9%), and San Antonio, TX, (11%).
  • Only three of 69 metros saw year-over-year price declines in December. In Tulsa, OK, prices fell by 4.4% to $142,000 in December, the largest year-over-year decline of any city that month.  Washington, D.C., (-2.8%) and Little Rock, AR, (-2.6%), also posted year-over-year declines.

Sales

  • Sales rebounded across the country in December from November, with 64 of 68 markets posting double digit, month-over-month increases. San Jose (71%), San Francisco (29.7%) and, and Nashville (20.2%) had the biggest increase compared to last year.
  • Only eight cities saw sales declines in December from a year ago. The largest year-over-year decreases were in Dayton, OH, (-10.7%), Buffalo, NY, (-7.2%) and Miami (-6.8%).

Competition and Speed

  • Denver and Oakland tied for the fastest markets, with half of all new listings selling in 18 days or less, followed closely by Seattle where the typical home sold in less than three weeks.
  • Bay Area metros San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose were the only cities where, on average, homes sold above list in December. In San Jose, 80% of Redfin offers faced competition. In Oakland 78.6% had multiple offers and in San Francisco the number was 70.6%.

Homes For Sale

  • New listings surged at year end in Miami (58.3%) and Fort Lauderdale (26.9%), where sellers see demand from vacation homebuyers. New for-sale listings were up an astounding 80.4% in Miami from a year ago; sellers put more properties on the market in December than in any other month of 2015. Inventory in Miami is up 11.3% year-over-year.
  •  Houston and the Hudson Valley had the largest increase in homes for sale compared to last year. Inventory was up 32.8% and 26.5% in these metros, respectively
  • Two metros had less than a month of supply, Oakland (0.7) and  San Francisco (0.9). Eight additional metros had less than two months of supply, including San Jose, Seattle, Denver, Portland, San Diego, Dallas, Ventura County and Tacoma.

You can download data from the November Market Tracker in an Excel Spreadsheet.
For additional local analysis, see: Chicago | Los Angeles | San Francisco | Washington, D.C.

Median Sale Price

Redfin Metro Median Sale Price Month-Over-Month Year-Over-Year
Akron, OH $117,750 -0.2% 7.0%
Albany, NY $199,000 -0.5% 5.3%
Allentown, PA $169,900 -0.9% 6.2%
Atlanta, GA $195,000 1.0% 6.0%
Austin, TX $272,000 -0.4% 9.3%
Baltimore, MD $235,000 2.0% 2.2%
Boston, MA $335,000 -0.3% 2.8%
Buffalo, NY $130,000 2.2% 4.0%
Charleston, SC $243,845 -2.5% 9.3%
Charlotte, NC $195,000 -2.5% 3.4%
Chicago, IL $197,500 1.5% 9.3%
Cincinnati, OH $146,000 4.3% 5.8%
Cleveland, OH $125,000 6.4% 2.9%
Columbus, OH $158,000 0.0% 4.3%
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX $219,000 4.3% 7.4%
Dayton, OH $104,950 22.4% 39.5%
Denver, CO $312,000 0.6% 9.5%
Detroit-Warren, MI $133,000 6.4% 10.8%
Fort Lauderdale, FL $211,025 8.2% 11.1%
Fresno, CA $225,000 -2.2% 10.8%
Grand Rapids, MI $137,000 3.4% 8.7%
Greenville, SC $166,000 -5.9% 3.2%
Hampton Roads, VA $210,100 2.5% 5.5%
Honolulu, HI $525,000 2.9% 7.1%
Houston, TX $216,807 8.1% 3.6%
Hudson Valley, NY $420,000 15.1% 6.3%
Indianapolis, IN $142,000 -2.1% 5.2%
Jacksonville, FL $178,000 6.0% 3.0%
Las Vegas, NV $200,000 -1.1% 5.8%
Little Rock, AR $142,250 -4.5% -2.6%
Long Island, NY $375,000 -1.3% 1.8%
Los Angeles, CA $498,000 3.8% 9.4%
Louisville, KY $163,000 3.2% 6.5%
Memphis, TN $152,250 3.4% 5.8%
Miami, FL $235,000 0.0% 4.4%
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN $216,000 0.5% 9.6%
Nashville, TN $231,010 1.3% 7.9%
New Orleans, LA $191,500 4.6% 5.2%
North Port, FL $234,000 2.9% 17.0%
Oakland, CA $579,000 -3.3% 10.3%
Omaha, NE $162,500 0.3% 10.5%
Orange County, CA $600,000 0.0% 8.1%
Orlando, FL $189,500 3.6% 11.5%
Philadelphia, PA $226,500 0.7% 1.8%
Phoenix, AZ $219,552 3.1% 9.8%
Portland, OR $308,512 2.8% 10.6%
Providence, RI $215,000 3.9% 12.6%
Raleigh-Durham, NC $228,000 -1.7% 9.4%
Richmond, VA $214,950 2.4% 4.9%
Riverside-San Bernardino, CA $306,000 2.0% 5.5%
Rochester, NY $132,500 6.0% 10.4%
Sacramento, CA $320,000 0.5% 8.5%
San Antonio, TX $197,000 6.5% 11.0%
San Diego, CA $470,000 -0.4% 6.8%
San Francisco, CA $1,000,000 -2.9% 14.9%
San Jose, CA $815,000 -2.4% 19.0%
Seattle, WA $399,998 -0.9% 10.8%
Tacoma, WA $257,500 5.1% 13.9%
Tampa, FL $172,000 3.9% 11.0%
Tucson, AZ $179,850 3.7% 6.7%
Tulsa, OK $142,000 -5.3% -4.4%
Ventura County, CA $515,000 -2.8% 6.2%
Washington, DC $349,900 -2.8% -2.8%
West Palm Beach, FL $237,500 3.3% 14.2%
Wilmington, DE $208,000 4.0% 10.1%
National $267,500 1.6% 8.8%

Homes Sold

Redfin Metro Homes Sold Month-Over-Month Year-Over-Year
Akron, OH 723 25.7% 0.8%
Albany, NY 678 11.7% 4.1%
Allentown, PA 601 9.9% -2.6%
Atlanta, GA 7,892 27.8% 10.6%
Austin, TX 2,308 29.4% 0.7%
Baltimore, MD 3,067 24.4% 8.4%
Boston, MA 6,228 20.3% 14.7%
Buffalo, NY 803 0.4% -7.2%
Charleston, SC 1,253 33.9% 17.3%
Charlotte, NC 2,499 24.3% 5.5%
Chicago, IL 8,151 20.6% 3.2%
Cincinnati, OH 1,661 19.0% 10.5%
Cleveland, OH 1,971 17.9% 13.2%
Columbus, OH 1,840 14.1% 7.8%
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 7,315 27.4% 9.9%
Dayton, OH 50 31.6% -10.7%
Denver, CO 4,268 22.5% 9.2%
Detroit-Warren, MI 5,084 9.9% 4.4%
Fort Lauderdale, FL 2,759 14.9% -0.6%
Fresno, CA 704 26.2% 2.2%
Grand Rapids, MI 855 16.5% 10.8%
Greenville, SC 687 32.4% 5.2%
Hampton Roads, VA 1,541 16.8% 1.0%
Honolulu, HI 729 17.4% 3.8%
Houston, TX 6,430 34.0% 2.5%
Hudson Valley, NY 1,139 19.9% 10.6%
Indianapolis, IN 2,179 21.1% 3.3%
Jacksonville, FL 1,843 20.3% 0.0%
Las Vegas, NV 3,202 32.4% 19.3%
Little Rock, AR 680 18.3% 14.3%
Long Island, NY 2,200 6.6% 9.9%
Los Angeles, CA 5,934 34.3% 7.9%
Louisville, KY 1,101 18.6% 10.3%
Memphis, TN 886 22.7% 3.3%
Miami, FL 2,363 2.9% -6.8%
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 3,751 15.8% 12.7%
Nashville, TN 2,740 29.5% 20.2%
New Orleans, LA 1,023 12.5% 4.0%
North Port, FL 1,569 24.8% -4.6%
Oakland, CA 2,301 17.0% 8.1%
Omaha, NE 895 17.8% 11.0%
Orange County, CA 2,382 26.8% 8.8%
Orlando, FL 3,389 24.1% 0.3%
Philadelphia, PA 3,740 22.7% 6.4%
Phoenix, AZ 6,373 26.9% 3.9%
Portland, OR 3,234 19.2% 14.8%
Providence, RI 815 15.9% 6.0%
Raleigh-Durham, NC 2,350 33.4% 13.4%
Richmond, VA 1,218 23.4% 18.0%
Riverside-San Bernardino, CA 4,377 29.2% 9.1%
Rochester, NY 840 4.5% -3.4%
Sacramento, CA 2,603 24.5% 12.3%
San Antonio, TX 2,060 26.4% 16.3%
San Diego, CA 2,914 30.7% 6.4%
San Francisco, CA 1,135 11.3% 29.7%
San Jose, CA 1,278 21.5% 71.1%
Seattle, WA 3,589 19.3% 10.2%
Tacoma, WA 1,103 23.8% 18.3%
Tampa, FL 4,745 24.4% 2.6%
Tucson, AZ 1,167 40.6% 14.9%
Tulsa, OK 934 13.8% 0.8%
Ventura County, CA 692 30.6% 6.0%
Washington, DC 6,265 25.0% 10.3%
West Palm Beach, FL 2,580 26.3% -4.4%
Wilmington, DE 626 13.0% 7.6%
National 164,300 22.7% 7.7%

New Listings

Redfin Metro New Listings Month-Over-Month Year-Over-Year
Akron, OH 609 -21.4% -4.2%
Albany, NY 616 -20.2% 9.6%
Allentown, PA 697 -23.7% 5.3%
Atlanta, GA 5,289 -18.1% -1.2%
Austin, TX 1,567 -24.7% 6.0%
Baltimore, MD 2,684 -24.2% 4.1%
Boston, MA 3,516 -33.4% 9.1%
Buffalo, NY 670 -24.9% 13.0%
Charleston, SC 1,043 -19.6% 5.9%
Chicago, IL 6,999 -29.2% -7.5%
Cincinnati, OH 1,449 -24.4% -0.4%
Cleveland, OH 1,676 -23.9% 0.2%
Columbus, OH 1,230 -28.8% -4.2%
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 5,385 -22.8% 7.9%
Dayton, OH 693 -28.3% -11.7%
Denver, CO 2,115 -34.9% -4.9%
Detroit-Warren, MI 5,299 -21.8% -7.6%
Fort Lauderdale, FL 1,631 26.9% 55.8%
Fresno, CA 543 -30.7% -15.7%
Grand Rapids, MI 636 -29.0% -5.8%
Greenville, SC 618 -16.6% 12.6%
Hampton Roads, VA 1,773 -11.3% 9.4%
Honolulu, HI 704 -16.3% 6.8%
Houston, TX 6,003 -18.0% 10.1%
Hudson Valley, NY 720 -34.5% 8.8%
Indianapolis, IN 1,970 -23.7% 0.4%
Jacksonville, FL 1,755 -15.0% -0.2%
Las Vegas, NV 2,899 -15.1% 2.4%
Little Rock, AR 788 -13.1% 1.2%
Long Island, NY 1,846 -29.8% 1.2%
Los Angeles, CA 4,672 -24.7% 7.0%
Louisville, KY 889 -23.6% -12.5%
Memphis, TN 944 -6.0% 9.9%
Miami, FL 3,002 58.3% 80.4%
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 2,467 -32.3% 1.3%
Nashville, TN 2,562 -14.8% 18.0%
New Orleans, LA 1,046 -22.4% -7.3%
North Port, FL 1,830 -17.0% 1.0%
Oakland, CA 1,072 -36.7% -2.5%
Omaha, NE 700 -27.9% 1.6%
Orange County, CA 1,882 -22.9% 15.0%
Orlando, FL 3,198 -14.2% -3.3%
Philadelphia, PA 3,170 -26.1% 3.6%
Phoenix, AZ 5,730 -23.9% 4.1%
Portland, OR 1,813 -28.1% -4.5%
Providence, RI 723 -25.6% 9.5%
Raleigh-Durham, NC 1,492 -26.6% -8.1%
Richmond, VA 976 -25.1% -8.1%
Riverside-San Bernardino, CA 4,829 -19.7% 12.9%
Rochester, NY 799 -20.9% 11.7%
San Antonio, TX 1,913 -18.1% 14.8%
San Diego, CA 2,143 -29.3% -3.6%
San Francisco, CA 426 -49.8% -0.9%
San Jose, CA 587 -38.3% 8.5%
Seattle, WA 1,873 -24.1% -2.1%
Tacoma, WA 659 -30.4% -12.9%
Tampa, FL 4,419 -11.8% -2.8%
Tucson, AZ 1,180 -18.8% 4.9%
Tulsa, OK 1,087 -17.8% -5.1%
Ventura County, CA 472 -30.4% -6.3%
Washington, DC 4,677 -21.7% 7.0%
West Palm Beach, FL 3,050 -12.2% -2.7%
Wilmington, DE 574 -27.6% 1.2%
National 130,300 -21.8% 3.3%

All Homes for Sale

Redfin Metro All Homes for Sale Month-Over-Month Year-Over-Year
Akron, OH 2,945 -10.7% -8.4%
Albany, NY 3,999 -10.2% -5.2%
Allentown, PA 3,585 -25.2% -12.3%
Atlanta, GA 20,579 -10.7% -9.2%
Austin, TX 4,820 -14.9% -3.0%
Baltimore, MD 11,620 -12.0% -7.1%
Boston, MA 14,626 -23.7% -14.6%
Buffalo, NY 3,503 -15.1% -40.3%
Charleston, SC 5,535 -9.0% -17.0%
Chicago, IL 36,362 -6.6% 2.5%
Cincinnati, OH 8,048 -12.7% -11.5%
Cleveland, OH 9,283 -9.7% -6.1%
Columbus, OH 5,624 -1.4% -4.1%
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 13,749 -11.6% -0.7%
Dayton, OH 4,004 -10.4% -7.4%
Denver, CO 5,446 -12.9% 24.2%
Detroit-Warren, MI 22,764 -8.8% 20.7%
Fresno, CA 1,851 -12.9% -9.3%
Grand Rapids, MI 2,363 -17.2% -50.3%
Greenville, SC 2,892 2.8% -4.7%
Hampton Roads, VA 8,038 -7.2% -5.8%
Honolulu, HI 2,836 -11.2% -5.9%
Houston, TX 20,885 -7.6% 32.8%
Hudson Valley, NY 7,130 -5.0% 26.5%
Indianapolis, IN 8,400 -12.6% -20.6%
Jacksonville, FL 6,841 -8.8% -17.1%
Las Vegas, NV 13,116 -9.7% -5.8%
Little Rock, AR 4,049 -2.6% -7.4%
Long Island, NY 12,602 -10.7% -8.7%
Los Angeles, CA 11,671 -15.8% -13.3%
Louisville, KY 3,443 -14.3% -36.6%
Miami, FL 7,394 19.9% 11.3%
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 9,869 -22.7% -18.3%
Nashville, TN 7,610 -14.1% -2.3%
North Port, FL 6,461 1.9% -2.1%
Oakland, CA 1,619 -35.3% -25.0%
Omaha, NE 2,292 -11.5% -17.3%
Orange County, CA 5,358 -12.6% 9.1%
Orlando, FL 11,620 -6.5% -16.8%
Philadelphia, PA 16,980 -15.0% -9.2%
Phoenix, AZ 20,167 -1.3% -6.0%
Portland, OR 4,396 -20.3% -36.6%
Providence, RI 3,412 -15.6% 0.2%
Raleigh-Durham, NC 7,221 -3.2% -0.8%
Richmond, VA 3,952 -16.4% -15.5%
Riverside-San Bernardino, CA 15,678 -5.5% 9.0%
San Antonio, TX 6,872 -5.5% 5.6%
San Diego, CA 5,358 -16.3% -19.9%
San Francisco, CA 1,067 -41.9% -9.8%
San Jose, CA 1,298 -36.7% -25.6%
Seattle, WA 3,616 -22.2% -40.9%
Tacoma, WA 2,143 -19.9% -33.6%
Tampa, FL 14,955 -4.6% -15.2%
Tucson, AZ 5,063 3.0% -3.6%
Tulsa, OK 4,495 -9.6% -4.6%
Ventura County, CA 1,318 -18.3% -15.3%
Washington, DC 16,226 -17.1% -3.0%
West Palm Beach, FL 12,178 5.4% 1.0%
Wilmington, DE 3,374 -11.4% -5.5%
National 488,600 -10.3% -5.4%

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Nela Richardson

Nela leads Redfin’s housing market research team on data reports that help Redfin customers make informed choices. She comes to Redfin from Bloomberg LP, where she served as a senior economist with Bloomberg Government. She also served in past roles in the mortgage industry, capital markets and financial policy. Redfin is a full-service real estate brokerage that uses modern technology to make clients smarter and faster. For more information about working with a Redfin real estate agent to buy or sell a home, visit our "Why Redfin?," page.

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