March Was the Hottest Month in Housing History
The housing market set a slew of records for prices, home-selling speed and competition in March, making it the hottest month for housing since 2012
Platform
March:
March was a month of records for the housing market, even considering the fact that year-over-year comparisons are now looking at the start of the pandemic:
- The national median home-sale price hit a record high of $353,000, up 17% from 2020, a record high rate of growth.
- The number of homes for sale fell to a record low, with a record year-over-year drop of 29%.
- The typical home sold in just 25 days, a record low.
- 42% of homes sold above their list price, a record high.
- The average sale-to-list ratio, a measure of how close homes are selling to their asking prices, hit a record high, passing 100% for the first time.
The latest weekly data for April suggests that we may already be seeing the beginning of some seasonal slowing in the market, so March might be the most intense month for the housing market this year.
(Note: Year-over-year comparisons of pending sales and new listings in this report are more a reflection of the fact that in March of 2020 stay-at-home-orders halted both home-buying and selling activity than of how the housing market has changed over the past year. Other measures like closed home sales and home prices were most impacted by this in April and May of last year, and will be reflected in the year-over-year data in the coming months.)
The only places prices didn’t increase were Honolulu, where they fell 4.7% from a year ago and San Francisco, where they were down 1.6%. The largest price increases were in Austin, TX (+28%), Fresno, CA (+23%) and North Port, FL (+23%), three popular destinations for newly-remote workers who have been leaving the most expensive metro areas during the pandemic in search of more affordable locales.
Home Sales
Active listings—the count of all homes that were for sale at any time during the month—fell 29% year over year to their lowest level on record. This was the largest year-over-year drop on record and the 20th-straight month of declines.
New Listings
New listings of homes for sale fell 7% in March from a year earlier. Despite the ongoing decline in new listings of homes for sale, pending sales were still up 22% from 2020.
The typical home that sold in March went under contract in 25 days—19 days fewer than a year earlier and the fastest pace on record.
Time on Market
The typical home that sold in March went under contract in 25 days—19 days fewer than a year earlier and the fastest pace on record.
Listing Prices
In March a record-high 42% of homes sold above list price, the largest share on record. If this measure follows the typical seasonal pattern, it may continue to hit new record highs in April, May and June.
Sale-To-List Prices
The average sale-to-list price ratio exceeded 100% for the first time on record in March. This measure also typically peaks in June, so we may see additional record highs for the next three months if the market does not cool down.
Competition
Denver was the fastest market, with half of all homes pending sale in just 5 days, down from 9 days a year earlier. Tacoma, WA and Grand Rapids, MI were the next fastest markets with 5 and 6 median days on market, followed by Omaha, NE (6) and Portland, OR (6).
The most competitive market in March was Oakland, CA where 79.7% of homes sold above list price, followed by 72.7% in San Jose, CA, 69.5% in Tacoma, WA, 68.1% in Sacramento, CA, and 66.4% in Salt Lake City.
Prices
Austin, TX had the nation’s highest price growth, rising 28.2% since last year to $427,000. Fresno, CA had the second highest growth at 23.2% year-over-year price growth, followed by North Port, FL (22.8%), Sacramento, CA (20.9%), and Salt Lake City (20.4%).
2 metros saw price declines in March including Urban Honolulu, HI (-4.7%), and San Francisco (-1.6%).
Sales
The New York City metro area led the nation in year-over-year sales growth, up 58.2%, followed by San Jose, CA, up 56.4%. San Francisco rounded out the top three with sales up 54.6% from a year ago.
Rochester, NY saw the largest decline in sales since last year, falling 9.4%. Home sales in Grand Rapids, MI and Dayton, OH declined by 8.9% and 7.3%, respectively.
Inventory
San Francisco had the highest increase in the number of homes for sale, up 34% year over year, followed by San Jose, CA (31%) and Oakland, CA (8%).
Salt Lake City had the largest decrease in overall active listings, falling 66.3% since last March. Baton Rouge, LA (-59%), Allentown, PA (-52%), and St. Louis (-49%) also saw far fewer homes available on the market than a year ago.
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