Home sales finished higher in November, bucking the seasonal trend toward a slowdown, according to the RE/MAX National Housing Report. Home sales last month came in at 19.1 percent above last year’s figure, with prices up 1.4 percent since October. All but one of the 53 markets in the Report posted an increase in sales, and last month marked the most homes sold of any November in the Report’s eight-year history.
“The continued decline of inventory and talk of rising interest rates may have contributed to November’s surge of home sales,” says Dave Liniger, RE/MAX CEO, chairman of the board and co-founder. “Over the past 11 months, the majority of markets have seen home prices return to their pre-recession levels, reaffirming that 2016 has been the best year for the housing market since the recession.”
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Of the 53 metro areas surveyed in November, the average number of home sales increased 19.1 percent compared to one year ago, which marks the second highest increase in the eight-year history of the report. This month, only one of the 53 metro areas surveyed experienced a decrease in sales year-over-year (Miami, Fla. at -11.4 percent) while the remaining 52 saw increases. The markets with the largest increase in sales include Billings, Mont., +38.1 percent, Las Vegas, Nev., +34.9 percent, Boise, Idaho, +33.1 percent, Burlington, Vt., +30.7 percent, Honolulu, Hawaii, +30.3 percent, and Phoenix, Ariz., +29.1 percent.
Median Sales Price
In November, the median of all 53 metro median sales prices was $220,000, up 1.4 percent from last month and up 8.9 percent from November 2015. Of the 53 metro areas surveyed, all but two (Burlington, Vt., and Des Moines, Iowa) saw year-over-year increases with respect to median sales price, with 15 rising by double-digit percentages. The largest double-digit increases were seen in Honolulu, Hawaii, +17.7 percent, Tampa, Fla., +15.9 percent, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas, +15.0 percent, Seattle, Wash., +13.2 percent, and Birmingham, Ala., +13.1 percent.
Days on Market
The average days on market for homes sold in November was 59, up one day from the average in October 2016, but down six days from this time last year. The two metro areas with the lowest days on market are San Francisco and Denver at 32 and 33, respectively. The highest days on market averages continue to be in Augusta, Maine, at 148, and Burlington, Vt., at 97. Days on market is the number of days between when a home is first listed in an MLS and a sales contract is signed.
Months Supply of Inventory
The number of homes for sale in November was down 9.3 percent from October, and down 17.0 percent from November 2015. Based on the rate of home sales in November, the months supply of inventory was 4.0, compared to last month at 3.9 and last year at 5.0. A 6.0-month supply indicates a market balanced equally between buyers and sellers. In November, 49 of the 53 metro areas surveyed reported a months supply of less than 6.0, which is typically considered a seller’s market. The remaining four reported a months supply above 6.0, which is typically considered a buyer’s market. The markets with the lowest months supply of inventory continue to be San Francisco, Calif., at 1.3, Denver, Colo., at 1.5, and Seattle, Wash., at 1.6, with Denver and Seattle seeing the same months supply of inventory as last month.
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