As the weather warms and pandemic restrictions ease across much of the country, the U.S. housing market shows little sign of cooling. Robust buyer demand, fueled by low mortgage rates, continues to outpace supply, which remains near historic lows. Nationwide, inventory remains much lower than it was at this time last year, and sales prices are surging as a result.
Closed Sales increased 19.6 percent for existing homes but decreased 3.2 percent for new homes. Pending Sales increased 12.7 percent for existing homes but decreased 52.2 percent for new homes. Inventory decreased 53.3
percent for existing homes and 54.5 percent for new homes. The Median Sales Price was up 19.1 percent to $255,000 for existing homes and 20.9 percent to $439,425 for new homes. Days on Market decreased 58.8
percent for existing homes and 38.3 percent for new homes. Supply decreased 56.3 percent for existing homes and 63.0 percent for new homes.
With such limited supply of existing homes to purchase, all eyes are on home builders to provide a much-needed boost of inventory to the market to help meet buyer demand. However, increasing material and labor costs, along with supply chain challenges, have contributed to significantly higher construction costs, with builders passing these costs on to homebuyers. And while the warmer temperatures, rising sales prices, and the reopening of the economy may draw more sellers to the market, historically low levels of homes for sale are likely to continue for some time.
*Information courtesy of KCRAR and Heartland MLS