- theMReport.com - https://themreport.com -

Unlike Anything Seen Before

house on penny The U.S. housing market continued to accelerate in June. According to a report published Thursday by Redfin [1], both the median prices and speed of home sales hit all-time highs.

As for increases nationwide, the median sales price rose 7.3 percent year-to-year to $298,000, the highest price on record since the Seattle-based brokerage began tracking in 2010.

Homes typically sold within 36 days of when they were listed, representing the fastest pace in seven years, and the average sale-to-list price ratio hit a record high of 95.5 percent.

However, the housing market is reflecting an imbalance between the long-standing inventory shortage and a surging demand.

“This market is unlike any we’ve ever seen before. Month after month, new records are set for the pace at which homes are going under contract. Demand continues to swell while supply troughs,” said Chief Economist at Redfin, Nela Richardson.

While home prices and buyer competition hit new highs, the inventory shortage continued to lag for the 21st month in a row.

According to the data, the number of homes available for sale dropped 10.7 percent to 786,000, with new listings at 352,500, matching the volume of last year but falling 2.7 percent from May. This decrease in homes available results in 2.5-months of inventory, marking the lowest on record since 2010.

To put the decrease of for sale homes into perspective, six months of supply represents a balanced market between buyers and sellers. Anything less favors sellers and anything more favors buyers, according to Redfin.

Meanwhile, buyers bid competitively for limited housing stocks. More than 82,140 homes, or about 26.6 percent of all homes sold in June, went for higher than their asking price.

“For buyers competing in this market, it’s survival of the fittest,” Richardson said. “The strongest offers that are most likely to close quickly and smoothly rise to the top of the pile.”

To read the full report, click here [2].