The latest monthly housing market report from RE/MAX found that home sales consistently improved during December 2024. The report surveyed 52 large metro areas and found an increased number of sales across the U.S.
Compared to December 2023, home sales rose 13.3%, while also being 4.4% higher than in November 2024. The number of homes for sale also rose annually by 22% in December 2024; homes for sale compared to November were down by 12.4%, but the report attributed this to seasonality. New listings similarly rose 7.5% compared to December 2023 but dropped 24.9% compared to November.
“Overall, 2024 showed some modest improvements in housing inventory,” said RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. CEO Erik Carlson in a release. “Affordability remains a challenge for many buyers, but demand persists as people continue to see the value of homeownership. Buyers should stay informed and act when the time is right for them.”
Buyers generally paid 98% of asking price in December 2024, unchanged from the end of 2023 but 1% less than in November. Overall housing inventory in December 2024 was 3 months’ worth, unchanged from November but an increase from 2.5 months’ in December 2023. Listed homes stayed on the market for 54 days, a week longer than a year and month ago.
Regional breakdown
Of the surveyed metro areas, the ones with the biggest increases in new listings December 2023 to December 2024 were:
- Burlington, Vermont: 32.1%
- Manchester, New Hampshire: 30.6%
- Las Vegas: 30.2%
- Honolulu, Hawaii: 27.7%
- Fayetteville, Arkansas: 26.3%
The metro areas with the biggest declines in new listings year-over-year:
- Saint Louis, Missouri: 13.7%
- Bozeman, Montana: 12.6%
- Cleveland, Ohio: 10.4%
The largest regional changes in the number of closed transactions were all increases, reflecting the increased number of home sales. The regions with the greatest annual changes in the number of closed transactions were:
- Fayetteville: 29%
- Denver, Colorado: 26.5%
- Seattle: 24.2%
- San Diego: 24.1%
- Providence, Rhode Island: 23.7%
The greatest annual increases in median sales price of homes were in:
- Dover, Delaware: 13.3%
- Cleveland: 13.1%
- Trenton, New Jersey: 11.1%
- Chicago: 11.1%
- Detroit: 10%
Southern metro areas saw the lowest close-to-list price ratios in December 2024:
- Miami: 93.5%
- New Orleans: 96.1%
- Tampa, Florida: 96.6%
Metro areas with the highest close-to-list price ratios were:
- Hartford, Connecticut: 102.1%
- San Francisco: 101.5%
- Trenton: 100.7%
The metro areas where homes spent the highest average number of days on the market were:
- Bozeman, Montana: 113 days
- Coeur d’Alene, Idaho: 90 days
- San Antonio, Texas: 86 days
- Fayetteville: 83 days
- Des Moines, Iowa: 82 days
Metro areas where homes spent the least number of days on average on the market were:
- Baltimore: 19 days
- Philadelphia and Washington DC: 23 days
- Trenton: 26 days
Markets with the greatest months’ supply of inventory were:
- Miami: 7.2 months
- San Antonio: 6.3 months
- Honolulu: 5.8 months
Markets with the lowest months’ supply of inventory were:
- Seattle: 1 month
- Washington DC: 1.1 months
- Baltimore, Manchester and Trenton: 1.2 months.
For the full report, click here.
