Home prices and sales both increased in January

Home Prices and Sales Showed Steady Growth in January While Inventory Continued to Decline

by
Updated on October 6th, 2020

The median home sale price increased 7.0 percent in January to $261,100, continuing a trend of steady annual growth. Home sales were up as well, increasing 5.6 percent compared to last year despite mortgage rate uncertainty and a continuing inventory crunch.

Median Sale Price (10) (1)

 

Home Sales (5) (1)

Housing inventory fell 12 percent compared to last January — the largest annual drop in the number of homes for sale since April 2013. The abysmal supply situation was due in part to a 5.1 percent annual decline in new listings. But last month was also the fastest January on record since Redfin began tracking this measure in 2010. The typical home sold in 59 days, seven days faster than last year and two weeks faster than January 2015.
“Buyers jumped through three hurdles last month: rising prices, low inventory and a fast market,” said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson. “Sellers, however, are still warming the bench as the supply picture looks weaker than demand. This was the first January in three years in which new listings fell short of the previous year.”

Market Summary January 2017 Month-Over-Month Year-Over-Year
Median sale price $261,100 -2.4% 7.0%
Homes sold 171,000 -25.9% 5.6%
New listings 234,400 53.1% -5.1%
All Homes for sale 666,700 -0.5% -12.0%
Median days on market 59 5 -7
Months of supply 3.9 1 -0.8
Sold above list 18.0% -0.8% 0.5%
Average Sale-to-list 93.7% -0.8% -0.4%

The national trends of strong home sales and price growth last month were primarily driven by affordable metros. Home sales increased more than 26 percent in Lakeland, Florida, Poughkeepsie, New York, and Memphis, Tennessee, all of which had a median sale price in January below the national median of $261,100.
The top 10 metros with the strongest price growth all had median sale prices below $300,000 — less than a third of the median sale price of $1.03 million in San Francisco — the most expensive of the 90 markets Redfin tracks. In fact, the Bay Area’s high-priced markets all saw home sales decline. Sales were down 8.6 percent since last year in San Jose, 7.4 percent in San Francisco and 1.3 percent in Oakland.
“I’m working with several California transplants right now, most of whom are relocating from the Bay Area to take advantage of the affordable housing here,” said Kelly Money, a Redfin real estate agent in Phoenix. “Many of them work remotely for tech companies, but want to own a home and raise their families here. I’ve even helped a few buyers planning to relocate here and commute to the Bay Area. The cost of their mortgage plus weekly airfare is still more affordable than buying a home in San Francisco. It’s a wild idea at first, but when people see they can get 3,000 square feet, a backyard and a swimming pool for less than the rent on their studio apartment, it starts to make sense.”

Other January Highlights

Competition

  • Denver, CO, was the fastest market, with half of all homes pending sale in just 23 days, down from 43 days from a year earlier. Seattle, WA, and Oakland, CA, were the next fastest markets with 26 and 27 median days on market, respectively, followed by Grand Rapids, MI (29), and Fresno, CA (32).
  • Prices were most likely to escalate in San Jose, CA, where 48.8% of homes sold above list price, followed by 48.5% in Oakland, CA, 47.7% in San Francisco, CA, 37.3% in Seattle, WA, and 34.4% in Tacoma, WA.

Prices

  • Dallas-Fort Worth, TX, had the nation’s highest price growth, rising 17% since last year to $233,995. Cleveland, OH, had the second-highest growth at 15.4% year-over-year price growth, followed by Cincinnati, OH (15%), Salt Lake City, UT (14.9%), and Ogden, UT (14.3%).
  • Two metros, Baton Rouge, LA (-6.4%), Allentown, PA (-2.8%), saw year-over-year price declines in January.

Sales

  • Thirty-three out of 90 metros saw sales surge by double digits from last year. Lakeland, FL, led the nation in year-over-year sales growth, up 28.7%, followed by Poughkeepsie, NY, up 28.0%. Memphis, TN, rounded out the top three with sales up 26.1% from a year ago.
  • Columbia, SC, saw the largest decline in sales since last year, falling 65.0%. Home sales in Grand Rapids, MI, and Buffalo, NY, declined by 14.3% and 9.9%, respectively.

Inventory

  • Buffalo, NY had the largest decrease in overall inventory, falling 39.8% since last January. Portsmouth, NH (-35.2%), Rochester, NH (-34.7%), and Omaha, NE (-34.6%), also saw far fewer homes available on the market than a year ago.
  • Provo, UT, had the highest increase in the number of homes for sale, up 33.7% year over year, followed by San Jose, CA (17.0%), and Raleigh, NC (16.7%).

Below are market-by-market breakdowns for prices, inventory, new listings and sales for metros with populations of 1.5 million or more. For downloadable data on all of the markets Redfin tracks, visit the Redfin Data Center.

Median Sale Price

Redfin Metro Median Sale Price Month-Over-Month Year-Over-Year
Atlanta, GA $192,500 -4.7% 6.9%
Austin, TX $277,500 -3.7% 6.7%
Baltimore, MD $240,000 -0.8% 6.2%
Boston, MA $370,000 0.0% 6.0%
Charlotte, NC $205,000 -2.4% 14.2%
Chicago, IL $208,200 -2.7% 9.7%
Cincinnati, OH $150,000 0.0% 15.0%
Cleveland, OH $120,000 -6.2% 15.4%
Columbus, OH $163,000 -3.0% 7.2%
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX $234,000 -2.5% 17.0%
Denver, CO $347,000 0.6% 10.2%
Detroit, MI $150,000 -1.3% 9.3%
Edison, NJ $272,000 -3.9% 0.7%
Fort Lauderdale, FL $220,000 -2.2% 12.8%
Hampton Roads, VA $205,600 -3.7% 2.8%
Houston, TX $209,600 -7.3% 4.8%
Indianapolis, IN $143,500 -7.4% 5.1%
Kansas City, MO $175,000 0.0% 5.4%
Las Vegas, NV $216,000 0.5% 8.7%
Long Island, NY $405,000 -2.4% 8.0%
Los Angeles, CA $536,000 0.2% 7.2%
Miami, FL $265,000 3.9% 12.8%
Milwaukee, WI $177,200 -0.4% 9.1%
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN $229,000 -0.4% 6.5%
Nashville, TN $247,000 -5.0% 7.4%
Oakland, CA $580,000 -3.3% 5.5%
Orange County, CA $616,000 -2.2% 3.5%
Orlando, FL $206,000 -1.0% 11.4%
Philadelphia, PA $215,000 -5.7% 4.9%
Phoenix, AZ $228,500 -0.2% 6.8%
Pittsburgh, PA $140,000 -2.7% 4.5%
Portland, OR $340,000 1.0% 13.3%
Riverside-San Bernardino, CA $315,000 -3.1% 6.8%
Sacramento, CA $329,200 -2.3% 4.5%
San Antonio, TX $191,500 -4.7% 4.1%
San Diego, CA $510,000 1.0% 7.5%
San Francisco, CA $1,030,000 -6.4% 4.0%
San Jose, CA $821,000 -2.3% 6.6%
Seattle, WA $440,000 -4.3% 8.2%
St. Louis, MO $155,000 -4.9% 2.0%
Tampa, FL $186,000 -4.6% 12.7%
Washington, DC $365,000 -2.7% 5.8%
National $261,100 -2.4% 7.0%

Homes Sold

Redfin Metro Homes Sold Month-Over-Month Year-Over-Year
Atlanta, GA 6,269 -34.0% 3.6%
Austin, TX 1,570 -37.2% 2.1%
Baltimore, MD 2,451 -36.0% -0.7%
Boston, MA 4,055 -29.3% 0.5%
Charlotte, NC 1,845 -32.0% 14.8%
Chicago, IL 8,145 -9.3% 7.6%
Cincinnati, OH 1,396 -35.1% -0.3%
Cleveland, OH 1,541 -28.2% -2.8%
Columbus, OH 1,820 -23.5% 22.5%
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 4,828 -32.6% -5.2%
Denver, CO 3,481 -25.1% 12.8%
Detroit, MI 4,466 -24.3% 1.5%
Edison, NJ 2,024 -34.9% -4.5%
Fort Lauderdale, FL 2,263 -27.5% -6.5%
Hampton Roads, VA 1,296 -27.8% 10.4%
Houston, TX 4,126 -38.9% -4.2%
Indianapolis, IN 1,526 -35.4% 0.2%
Kansas City, MO 1,682 -34.7% 1.0%
Las Vegas, NV 2,640 -22.3% 12.5%
Long Island, NY 2,062 -27.5% 2.0%
Los Angeles, CA 4,773 -24.7% 3.0%
Miami, FL 2,208 -17.4% 10.1%
Milwaukee, WI 1,081 -24.4% 4.3%
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 3,534 -26.1% 2.9%
Nashville, TN 2,242 -24.1% 13.7%
Oakland, CA 1,496 -31.3% -1.3%
Orange County, CA 1,938 -20.9% 3.2%
Orlando, FL 3,293 -8.9% 20.5%
Philadelphia, PA 3,334 -27.5% 11.1%
Phoenix, AZ 6,046 -14.3% 18.0%
Pittsburgh, PA 1,450 -17.1% 19.4%
Portland, OR 2,402 -32.3% -4.1%
Riverside-San Bernardino, CA 3,848 -17.4% 11.1%
Sacramento, CA 1,912 -29.1% 5.6%
San Antonio, TX 1,478 -31.6% 1.9%
San Diego, CA 2,150 -26.0% 2.6%
San Francisco, CA 664 -38.2% -7.4%
San Jose, CA 774 -31.5% -8.6%
Seattle, WA 2,790 -26.3% 18.3%
St. Louis, MO 2,192 -36.0% 17.5%
Tampa, FL 4,385 -13.7% 21.6%
Washington, DC 5,033 -27.4% 12.4%
National 171,000 -25.9% 5.6%

All Homes for Sale

Redfin Metro All Homes for Sale Month-Over-Month Year-Over-Year
Atlanta, GA 28,312 4.6% -8.9%
Austin, TX 5,167 -4.5% 6.7%
Baltimore, MD 8,856 -8.5% -21.7%
Boston, MA 8,341 -7.6% -27.5%
Charlotte, NC 7,990 3.2% -12.2%
Chicago, IL 33,892 -0.2% -14.0%
Cincinnati, OH 6,847 3.0% -16.2%
Cleveland, OH 7,650 -3.0% -21.9%
Columbus, OH 5,402 -1.4% -13.8%
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 13,191 -6.7% -15.5%
Denver, CO 4,273 -11.0% -28.1%
Detroit, MI 10,445 -8.5% -31.5%
Edison, NJ 13,040 8.6% 0.6%
Fort Lauderdale, FL 13,747 3.4% -11.1%
Hampton Roads, VA 6,965 -1.9% -12.6%
Houston, TX 21,290 -2.3% -1.7%
Indianapolis, IN 5,997 -7.4% -22.0%
Las Vegas, NV 10,677 1.9% -21.2%
Long Island, NY 9,460 -1.3% -23.9%
Los Angeles, CA 13,737 -2.0% -1.8%
Miami, FL 18,413 0.8% 2.2%
Milwaukee, WI 4,906 -0.8% -17.4%
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 8,019 -4.3% -20.2%
Nashville, TN 7,813 3.1% 6.3%
Oakland, CA 1,900 6.1% -6.6%
Orange County, CA 5,816 0.2% -0.4%
Orlando, FL 9,498 -4.7% -23.3%
Philadelphia, PA 12,784 -0.6% -19.4%
Phoenix, AZ 21,130 1.9% -12.3%
Pittsburgh, PA 7,779 -2.4% -15.8%
Portland, OR 4,214 -13.9% -7.2%
Riverside-San Bernardino, CA 14,821 -2.7% -6.1%
Sacramento, CA 3,446 -10.2% -22.8%
San Antonio, TX 6,355 -4.4% -15.5%
San Diego, CA 4,562 -5.6% -24.4%
San Francisco, CA 1,429 31.6% 5.1%
San Jose, CA 1,450 60.0% 17.0%
Seattle, WA 2,825 -13.8% -30.1%
St. Louis, MO 11,434 6.9% 15.8%
Tampa, FL 12,946 -2.6% -20.9%
Washington, DC 12,569 -8.7% -22.4%
National 666,700 -0.5% -12.0%

New Listings

Redfin Metro New Listings Month-Over-Month Year-Over-Year
Atlanta, GA 8,466 51.7% -1.5%
Austin, TX 2,583 61.5% 8.6%
Baltimore, MD 3,150 35.4% 7.5%
Boston, MA 4,400 77.3% -8.6%
Charlotte, NC 2,530 54.6% 4.5%
Chicago, IL 9,908 80.2% -3.1%
Cincinnati, OH 1,939 72.2% -0.3%
Cleveland, OH 2,222 60.2% -0.1%
Columbus, OH 1,934 43.0% 1.2%
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 7,621 51.8% -0.6%
Denver, CO 3,485 51.3% -5.2%
Detroit, MI 4,411 38.0% -8.6%
Edison, NJ 3,201 71.1% -0.8%
Fort Lauderdale, FL 4,536 44.0% -5.1%
Hampton Roads, VA 1,977 54.2% -3.1%
Houston, TX 7,898 55.4% 1.3%
Indianapolis, IN 1,877 30.3% 1.2%
Kansas City, MO 2,197 42.8% 4.7%
Las Vegas, NV 3,682 49.4% -7.0%
Long Island, NY 2,663 86.6% -14.9%
Los Angeles, CA 6,503 69.2% -8.4%
Miami, FL 4,782 43.8% 0.2%
Milwaukee, WI 1,251 86.2% -10.0%
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 3,432 76.5% 3.7%
Nashville, TN 2,917 49.1% 10.9%
Oakland, CA 1,784 77.3% -3.5%
Orange County, CA 2,610 89.5% -11.6%
Orlando, FL 4,115 48.1% 0.0%
Philadelphia, PA 4,120 62.6% 1.6%
Phoenix, AZ 9,126 58.8% -4.2%
Pittsburgh, PA 1,540 55.7% 4.6%
Portland, OR 2,295 40.3% -20.5%
Riverside-San Bernardino, CA 5,223 51.8% -12.7%
Sacramento, CA 2,162 48.9% -13.1%
San Antonio, TX 2,394 34.4% -2.2%
San Diego, CA 2,960 67.3% -10.5%
San Francisco, CA 950 158.2% -11.5%
San Jose, CA 994 128.5% -3.6%
Seattle, WA 2,997 69.4% -6.8%
St. Louis, MO 3,013 41.9% 5.6%
Tampa, FL 6,043 40.0% 1.3%
Washington, DC 6,206 41.4% 9.8%
National 234,400 53.1% -5.1%
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Jeffery Marino

Jeffery writes about the L.A. real estate market for Redfin Real Time and works with journalists covering real estate throughout Southern California. He previously worked as an editor and researcher for a leading real estate publishing firm. 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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