HouseCanary, a ReferralExchange partner, has published its Market Pulse report for the month of December, 2020. While the exact numbers saw some increased clarity to cap off the year, the same trends maintained: Rising prices and shrinking inventory. The review below further fleshes out some of these insights and highlights from the report.
While the industry continued to face an entire year of dynamic challenges, the dual issues of limited inventory and rising prices were sustained throughout December. On a national scale, since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, buyer interest has maintained strong, with the median price of listings increasing in 38 of 39 states measured by HouseCanary. As prices rose, volume of listings dropped, with December seeing a year over decline of 10% in net new listing volume. Meanwhile, December of 2020 saw a substantial increase in listings under contract at 232,844 compared to only 195,308 in December 2019.
This limited inventory, combined with low interest rates, will continue to create a seller’s market for the foreseeable future. Zooming out to look at these same measures for the length of the pandemic (beginning 3/13/20 through 1/1/21) instead of just the month of December, we can see a similar tend of increased listings moving under contract. Compared to the same time in 2019-2020, there was an increase of 159,158 more listings under contract, or 6.1% higher than in the previous year.
This perfect storm of “fewer new listings but more listings under contract” has continued to squeeze the market into unprecedented territory, as new listings entering the market have not been equitable by price. Separated into price tiers of $0-$200K, $200K-$400K, $400K-$600K, $600K-$1M, and $1M+, net new listings under $200K and between $200K-$400K remain the lowest. Compared to the same time (3/13/20-1/1/21) in 2019, 2020 saw decreases in listings for $0-$200K and $200K-$400K at rates of 22.5% (156,047) and 1.4% (14,877), respectively. The graphic below shows how listing volume shook out across the aforementioned price tiers.
For more data, analysis, and to view the full report, click here. This post is just a highlight of some major takeaways. Published monthly, the full report includes additional information regarding prices, a state-by-state breakdown of information, and more.
