Realtor.com® Weekly Housing Report: Home Price Growth Hits Two-Year High as Wildfires and Hurricanes Put the Brakes on New Listings

Rhea-AI Summary

Home buying challenges intensified as home price growth soared to an 11% increase, the highest in two years, and inventory dropped by 39% year-over-year, according to realtor.com's Weekly Housing Report for the week ending Sept. 12. Natural disasters, including wildfires and hurricanes, contributed to a 17% decline in new listings. The Housing Market Recovery Index fell to 107.4 points, indicating a slight weakening but remaining 7.4 points stronger than pre-COVID levels. Fast home sales are now the norm, averaging just 54 days on the market.

Positive

• Home price growth reached 11.1%, marking the 18th consecutive week of price acceleration.
• Current home sales are taking only 54 days on average, which is 11 days faster than the previous year.

Negative

• Inventory of homes for sale has decreased by 39% compared to last year.
• New listings dropped by 17% due to natural disasters and the Labor Day holiday.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The already difficult task of buying a home became even more challenging this week as home price growth hit a two-year high and natural disasters drove the number of homes for sale even lower, according to realtor.com's^® Weekly Housing Report for the week ending Sept. 12. Overall, the housing market remains strong but saw a slight tempering last week as wildfires and hurricanes prevented potential sellers across the West and South from listing their homes.

"Today's home buyers face some daunting challenges. Home price growth just set a new high of 11% with no indication of a slowdown and there are nearly 40% fewer homes for sale than this time last year," said Danielle Hale, chief economist for realtor.com.^® "Inventory is so low that any disruption, such as this week's wildfires and hurricanes, feels even more stifling for would-be home buyers. Although this year is anything but typical, we expect inventory to follow the usual seasonal pattern of tapering off in the next few weeks, but we don't expect buyer demand to drop off as much as usual. Buyers hoping to take advantage of less competition during the housing off-season will likely be disappointed and could find it even more difficult to find a home."   

Wildfires, Hurricanes and the Labor Day holiday worsened declines in homes for sale

• The number of new listings hitting the market for the week ending Sept. 12 declined 17% compared to last year, as a result of the natural disasters and Labor Day holiday. There had been some improvement in new listings declines earlier this summer, such as the 11% yearly declines seen in late July and early August. But the combination of natural disasters scaring off sellers and one less work day (Labor Day holiday) resulted in overall fewer sellers putting homes on the market.
  
  
• The total number of homes available for sale is down 39% compared to this time last year. The lack of new listings hitting the market, paired with an incredible number of home buyers, has created a situation where there aren't as many homes as there are buyers.

Strong demand drove home prices 11.1% higher than last year -- a two-year record

• Buyer demand and lack of supply drove median listing prices up at the fastest rate in two years, 11.1% year-over-year, which is the 18th consecutive week of home price acceleration. Low mortgage rates have helped keep payments relatively affordable and prevented too many buyers from getting priced out.

Quick home sales are today's new normal

• It currently takes 54 days to sell a home, which is 11 days faster than this time last year. Today's fast-paced market is being fueled by limited inventory and fierce competition from other buyers. Those who want to close, know that they have to make a quick offer which is contributing to fast home sales.

Housing market remains strong but saw a slight weakening due to declines in inventory

• Realtor.com^® tracks the overall strength of the housing market through its proprietary Housing Market Recovery Index, which compares real-time key indicators including trends in number of searches on realtor.com^®, median listing prices, the number of newly listed homes, and the time it takes to sell to January 2020, prior to the pandemic.
  
  
• This week, the index was 107.4 points, 1.5 points weaker than last week, but 7.4 points stronger than it was pre-COVID. The weekly decline can be attributed to this week's natural disasters, which weakened market health in the Western and Southern regions of the U.S. by 1.9 and 1.8 points, respectively.

Weekly Metro Data – Week ending 9.12.2020

Metro	Median Listing Price (YOY change)	Total Listings (YOY change)	Median Days on Market (YOY change)
Akron, Ohio	7.1%	-52.6%	4 days faster
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y.	14.2%	-41.5%	18 days faster
Albuquerque, N.M.	22.0%	-50.2%	9 days faster
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pa.-N.J.	24.8%	-58.7%	31 days faster
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga.	10.1%	-44.9%	11 days faster
Augusta-Richmond County, Ga.-S.C.	8.3%	-47.7%	20 days faster
Austin-Round Rock, Texas	14.6%	-47.4%	17 days faster
Bakersfield, Calif.	18.5%	-47.7%	15 days faster
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md.	3.1%	-50.9%	21 days faster
Baton Rouge, La.	13.6%	-34.2%	1 day faster
Birmingham-Hoover, Ala.	8.1%	-37.6%	12 days faster
Boise City, Idaho	10.1%	-64.4%	5 days faster
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H.	16.4%	-33.6%	16 days faster
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.	0.0%	-25.1%	39 days faster
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, N.Y.	15.0%	-43.3%	3 days faster
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.	12.7%	-31.0%	21 days faster
Charleston-North Charleston, S.C.	16.4%	-39.6%	23 days faster
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C.	8.8%	-48.2%	14 days faster
Chattanooga, Tenn.-Ga.	13.5%	-48.3%	15 days faster
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.	7.7%	-34.7%	9 days faster
Cincinnati, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.	14.6%	-46.3%	9 days faster
Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio	10.0%	-51.1%	9 days faster
Colorado Springs, Colo.	5.4%	-47.5%	16 days faster
Columbia, S.C.	8.7%	-48.8%	18 days faster
Columbus, Ohio	3.8%	-47.3%	13 days faster
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	5.2%	-43.3%	11 days faster
Dayton, Ohio	23.5%	-45.8%	10 days faster
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Fla.	6.6%	-42.1%	19 days faster
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo.	5.2%	-39.9%	6 days faster
Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa	1.2%	-35.6%	7 days faster
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Mich	12.7%	-45.8%	8 days faster
Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.	11.3%	-42.3%	9 days faster
El Paso, Texas	10.1%	-44.6%	19 days faster
Fresno, Calif.	7.9%	-59.0%	21 days faster
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich	10.3%	-47.0%	1 day slower
Greensboro-High Point, N.C.	13.9%	-48.3%	4 days faster
Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, S.C.	5.3%	-40.8%	8 days faster
Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.	3.8%	-43.8%	18 days faster
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn.	7.5%	-32.0%	20 days faster
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas	7.8%	-32.2%	7 days faster
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Ind.	20.9%	-64.0%	6 days faster
Jackson, Miss.	23.6%	-44.8%	12 days faster
Jacksonville, Fla.	3.6%	-41.5%	13 days faster
Kansas City, Mo.-Kan.	13.3%	-50.3%	5 days faster
Knoxville, Tenn.	8.3%	-53.1%	14 days faster
Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.	8.2%	-28.4%	7 days faster
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev.	7.8%	-8.2%	10 days faster
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Ark.	18.5%	-49.5%	16 days faster
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.	17.5%	-29.3%	3 days faster
Louisville/Jefferson County, Ky.-Ind.	3.9%	-48.6%	10 days faster
Madison, Wis.	2.9%	-44.6%	7 days faster
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas	14.4%	-48.4%	15 days faster
Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark.	12.3%	-52.0%	15 days faster
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla.	2.5%	-13.5%	6 days faster
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis.	10.0%	-42.9%	4 days faster
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis.	5.9%	-32.0%	7 days faster
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, Tenn.	7.1%	-39.6%	6 days faster
New Haven-Milford, Conn.	4.1%	-24.8%	25 days faster
New Orleans-Metairie, La.	12.1%	-37.7%	12 days faster
New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa.	13.6%	-11.0%	14 days faster
North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.	5.6%	-28.4%	22 days faster
Oklahoma City, Okla.	9.6%	-38.8%	1 day faster
Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa	10.7%	-44.4%	5 days slower
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla.	1.5%	-18.1%	9 days faster
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif.	11.6%	-45.6%	37 days faster
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla.	8.7%	-40.5%	6 days faster
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md.	11.8%	-38.4%	20 days faster
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.	9.0%	-40.3%	10 days faster
Pittsburgh, Pa.	24.8%	-34.6%	11 days faster
Portland-South Portland, Maine	11.9%	-48.4%	28 days faster
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore.-Wash.	8.5%	-45.5%	7 days faster
Providence-Warwick, R.I.-Mass.	9.5%	-53.0%	14 days faster
Raleigh, N.C.	5.9%	-43.4%	10 days faster
Richmond, Va.	10.9%	-46.1%	8 days faster
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.	13.7%	-55.9%	17 days faster
Rochester, N.Y.	7.1%	-39.5%	13 days faster
Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, Calif.	10.3%	-51.3%	11 days faster
Salt Lake City, Utah	23.1%	-70.5%	13 days faster
San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	6.8%	-46.2%	20 days faster
San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif.	8.8%	-43.0%	6 days faster
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif.	11.7%	-14.1%	2 days slower
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.	5.4%	-25.9%	7 days faster
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, Pa.	15.8%	-52.8%	28 days faster
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.	4.5%	-25.2%	3 days faster
Spokane-Spokane Valley, Wash.	17.8%	-46.5%	6 days faster
Springfield, Mass.	21.4%	-46.4%	19 days faster
St. Louis, Mo.-Ill.	10.7%	-38.8%	7 days faster
Stockton-Lodi, Calif.	10.5%	-61.9%	7 days faster
Syracuse, N.Y.	2.6%	-42.0%	1 day slower
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.	7.2%	-42.7%	11 days faster
Toledo, Ohio	12.5%	-42.4%	13 days faster
Tucson, Ariz.	8.2%	-40.7%	9 days faster
Tulsa, Okla.	18.5%	-41.8%	8 days faster
Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	-13.2%	29.0%	3 days slower
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-N.C.	10.0%	-45.5%	21 days faster
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-Va.-Md.-W. Va.	9.2%	-39.3%	16 days faster
Wichita, Kan.	15.0%	-48.0%	12 days faster
Winston-Salem, N.C.	9.1%	-47.0%	15 days faster
Worcester, Mass.-Conn.	11.8%	-54.3%	26 days faster
Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa.	5.5%	-56.9%	14 days faster

Link to Weekly Stats Blog Post:
https://www.realtor.com/research/weekly-housing-trends-view-data-week-sep-12-2020/

Link to Index Commentary Blog Post: https://www.realtor.com/research/housing-market-recovery-index-trends-sep-12-data/

Methodology: The Weekly Housing Index leverages a weighted average of realtor.com® search traffic, median list prices, new listings, and median time on market and compares it to the January 2020 market trend, as a baseline for pre-COVID market growth. The overall index is set to 100 in this baseline period. The higher a market's index value, the higher its recovery and vice versa.

About realtor.com^®
Realtor.com^® makes buying, selling and living in homes easier and more rewarding for everyone. Realtor.com^® pioneered the world of digital real estate 20 years ago, and today through its website and mobile apps is a trusted source for the information, tools and professional expertise that help people move confidently through every step of their home journey. Using proprietary data science and machine learning technology, realtor.com^® pairs buyers and sellers with local agents in their market, helping take the guesswork out of buying and selling a home. For professionals, realtor.com^® is a trusted provider of consumer connections and branding solutions that help them succeed in today's on-demand world. Realtor.com^® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc. under a perpetual license from the National Association of REALTORS^®. For more information, visit realtor.com^®.

Media Contacts: 
Cody Horvat, cody.horvat@move.com

 

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SOURCE realtor.com

FAQ

What was the home price growth reported by realtor.com for the week ending September 12?

Home price growth reached 11.1%, the highest in two years.

How much has the inventory of homes for sale changed compared to last year?

The inventory has decreased by 39% year-over-year.

What is the average time it takes to sell a home as of September 12, 2020?

It takes an average of 54 days to sell a home.

What impact did natural disasters have on the housing market according to the Weekly Housing Report?

Natural disasters contributed to a 17% decline in new listings.

What is the Housing Market Recovery Index value as of September 12, 2020?

The index value is 107.4 points, indicating a slight weakening.