While the markets may start slowing down in the weeks and months to come, prices are still holding strong, according to realtor.com®’s Weekly Housing Report for the week ending Oct. 3. The report found that for the first week in October, the U.S. median home price stayed near its summer peak at $350,000, hitting a record-high growth of 12.9 percent YoY. Prices have grown over the past 21 consecutive weeks.
What about other market indicators? Current market inventory is down 38 percent YoY—a small improvement over last week when total inventory was down 39 percent. Additionally, new listings decreased 7 percent YoY, a drop from last week’s 6 percent decline. Buyer activity is still going strong as well. Homes are selling in 53 days—13 days faster YoY and on par with last week’s report.
“While buyers would normally begin to hunker down this time of year, we expect to see an unusually high number remain in the market this fall,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at realtor.com®. “This gives sellers a rare opportunity to get top dollar for their home outside of the prime selling season, which may be motivating some to stay in the market. However, even with record-breaking prices, we’re not seeing sellers rush into the market with the same eagerness as buyers. Looking forward, a key question is whether this frenzied demand will continue into the spring or if we’ll see more balance between home buyers and sellers.”
