January 2021
January started off strong for the housing market, with healthy buyer demand and
strong market fundamentals. A robust increase in housing starts in December points
to an active year for new construction, but higher material costs, especially lumber,
and a limited supply of buildable lots will temper the number of new units.
New Listings were down 9.9 percent to 1,290. Pending Sales increased 19.6 percent
to 1,333. Inventory shrank 49.5 percent to 1,371 units.
Prices moved higher as Median Sales Price was up 22.0 percent to $209,900. Days
on Market decreased 39.7 percent to 38 days. Months Supply of Inventory was
down 56.5 percent to 1.0 months, indicating that demand increased relative to
supply.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s January research estimates approximately 2.7
million homeowners with mortgages are currently in forbearance plans. Some of
these homes may eventually come to market, but given the strong appreciation in
most market segments in recent years, these eventual home sales are likely to be
mostly traditional sellers. However, a modest increase in short sales and
foreclosures at some point this year would not be surprising.
Information courtesy of CMLS*
