The 2016 home-buying season is in full swing, with homes in April moving 7 percent faster than one year ago, even as asking prices continue to break records. This, according to new data released this week by realtor.com®.
Median age of inventory is now 68 days, moving 5 days faster in April than a year earlier and 6 days faster than last month – pointing to solid momentum this spring. The median-priced home was listed at $245,500, 9 percent higher than one year ago and 2 percent higher than March. For-sale housing inventory is increasing on a monthly basis, but remains lower than one year ago.
“A robust buying season has already fully bloomed this spring, clearly demonstrated by our preliminary read on April inventory and activity on realtor.com,” says Jonathan Smoke, chief economist of realtor.com. “Pent-up demand, lower mortgage rates and strong employment continue to power the strongest and healthiest real estate market we have seen in a decade. Close to 550,000 new listings came onto the market in April, which helped total inventory grow 2 percent over March. However, we know that sales are picking up faster than inventory since the median age of inventory fell again by 6 days after falling a whopping 22 days in March. As a result we have 4 percent fewer homes available for sale compared to last year and homes stay on the market 5 fewer days.”
The median age of inventory for April is expected to be 68 days, down 7 percent year over year and down 8 percent from March.
The median listing price for April will likely reach a record high of $245,500, a nine percent increase year over year and a two percent increase month over month.
Listing inventory in April showed a two percent increase over March. However, inventory decreased four percent year over year.
Realtor.com’s Hottest Markets receive two to three times the number of views per listing compared to the national average. In terms of supply, these markets are seeing inventory move 17-45 days more quickly than the rest of the US. They have also seen days on market drop by an average of 4 days from March.
For more information, visit www.realtor.com.
