Realtor.com® Weekly Housing Report: Housing Market Shows Signs of Stabilizing, But Will it Relieve Weary Buyers?

Rhea-AI Summary

The latest realtor.com® Weekly Housing Report indicates a slight slowdown in the housing market for the week ending Oct. 17, 2020. Median listing prices rose by 11.1% year-over-year, showing a deceleration from earlier peaks. The current median home price stands at $350,000, while homes are selling 13 days faster than last year, averaging 53 days on the market.

Despite a reduction in new listings by 6%, inventory is 38% lower year-over-year. The Housing Market Recovery Index remains strong at 111.0, reflecting ongoing buyer demand amid a seller's market.

Positive

• Median listing prices increased by 11.1% YoY.
• Homes sold 13 days faster than last year, averaging 53 days on the market.
• Housing Market Recovery Index reached 111.0, indicating strong market health.

Negative

• Newly listed homes decreased by 6% compared to the previous week.
• Total inventory of homes for sale is down 38% YoY.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The prolonged 2020 homebuying season is showing signs of settling and may finally experience the long overdue seasonal slowdown, according to realtor.com^®'s Weekly Housing Report for the week ending Oct. 17. The latest report found home price growth declined slightly for the second week in a row, while the number of homes for sale and pace at which they are selling appears to be leveling off -- tidbits of good news for buyers in what very much remains a seller's market heading into November.

"During a time when the housing market usually slows down, we are once again reminded that 2020 is anything but typical. Going into the last half of October, the median U.S. home for sale is still priced near the year's peak and is selling almost two weeks faster than last year," said realtor.com^® Chief Economist Danielle Hale. "At the same time, the pace of change has steadied and for some indicators, even slowed. This could be a welcome relief for buyers who have navigated not only a pandemic, but also a fiercely competitive 2020 homebuying season characterized by double-digit price growth and record low inventory."

Listing price growth slows for second week in a row

• For the week ended Oct. 17, median listing prices grew 11.1% over last year, a second weekly deceleration in price gains which have been accelerating since April.
• Although listing price growth has declined since the first week of October when it was growing at a pace of 12.9% year over year, the U.S. median home price -- $350,000 -- remains unseasonably high.
• Record low mortgage rates have been the silver lining for buyers this year. Today's buyers are still seeing slightly lower monthly principal and interest payments now compared to last year.

Finding a home remains challenging, but isn't getting worse

• Newly listed homes were down 6% for the week ending Oct. 17, a slight uptick from the previous week. However, the new listings trend remains vastly improved over earlier in the year and for the fourth consecutive week was above the pre-COVID pace.
• A stabilizing new listings trend could tempt potential sellers -- who often are also buyers -- to list their home.
• Total inventory remains down 38% year over year. Although the total number of homes available for sale continues to shrink, the market has seen five consecutive weeks of steady or improving decline -- another factor signaling that the balance between supply and demand is stabilizing.

Homes are selling fast, but are showing signs of easing

• Homes sold in 53 days on average, 13 days faster than last year, and one day less faster than a week earlier.
• In another nod to stabilizing trends, the week of Oct. 17 marked the fourth week in a row of homes selling nearly two weeks faster than the prior year. This means while the balance of buyers and sellers remained tipped in favor of sellers, the market is seeing an end to further moves in a seller-friendly direction.

Overall housing market health remains strong

• 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 searchers 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.
• The index reached 111.0 points nationwide for the week ending Oct. 17, 11.0 points above the pre-COVID baseline, but a small decrease of 0.8 points over last week.

Metro	Median Listing Price YoY	Total Listings YoY	Median Days on Market YoY
Akron, Ohio	6.5%	-53.7%	14 days faster
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y.	15.2%	-42.2%	17 days faster
Albuquerque, N.M.	14.5%	-50.9%	8 days faster
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pa.-N.J.	20.0%	-56.6%	35 days faster
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga.	10.6%	-44.3%	8 days faster
Augusta-Richmond County, Ga.-S.C.	6.9%	-46.9%	29 days faster
Austin-Round Rock, Texas	17.7%	-47.8%	13 days faster
Bakersfield, Calif.	15.4%	-44.0%	15 days faster
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md.	4.6%	-51.4%	9 days faster
Baton Rouge, La.	12.7%	-38.9%	1 days faster
Birmingham-Hoover, Ala.	0.2%	-35.7%	17 days faster
Boise City, Idaho	18.1%	-71.3%	4 days faster
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H.	13.4%	-27.4%	11 days faster
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.	1.4%	-25.0%	43 days faster
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, N.Y.	5.1%	-45.5%	5 days slower
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.	11.8%	-36.1%	19 days faster
Charleston-North Charleston, S.C.	15.0%	-42.2%	23 days faster
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C.	7.7%	-49.0%	14 days faster
Chattanooga, Tenn.-Ga.	12.3%	-53.6%	12 days faster
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.	9.5%	-32.1%	7 days faster
Cincinnati, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.	15.6%	-44.3%	12 days faster
Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio	3.8%	-47.3%	17 days faster
Colorado Springs, Colo.	4.7%	-52.0%	14 days faster
Columbia, S.C.	6.7%	-48.2%	20 days faster
Columbus, Ohio	7.1%	-48.7%	9 days faster
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	4.5%	-46.5%	10 days faster
Dayton, Ohio	17.7%	-44.6%	13 days faster
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Fla.	5.9%	-42.2%	22 days faster
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo.	5.0%	-43.9%	7 days faster
Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa	5.2%	-34.2%	14 days faster
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Mich	12.5%	-47.1%	7 days faster
Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.	15.8%	-46.6%	10 days faster
El Paso, Texas	18.0%	-43.9%	15 days faster
Fresno, Calif.	4.2%	-55.0%	19 days faster
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich	7.2%	-46.9%	No change
Greensboro-High Point, N.C.	5.7%	-49.8%	18 days faster
Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, S.C.	5.6%	-39.5%	10 days faster
Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.	6.5%	-54.8%	6 days faster
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn.	7.1%	-29.5%	23 days faster
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas	8.1%	-32.5%	10 days faster
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Ind.	3.8%	-48.0%	14 days faster
Jackson, Miss.	19.4%	-47.3%	18 days faster
Jacksonville, Fla.	2.6%	-45.2%	17 days faster
Kansas City, Mo.-Kan.	10.2%	-48.8%	10 days faster
Knoxville, Tenn.	14.0%	-52.1%	16 days faster
Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.	6.4%	-29.2%	6 days faster
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev.	7.9%	-8.4%	7 days faster
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Ark.	22.6%	-49.3%	17 days faster
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.	17.4%	-21.4%	8 days faster
Louisville/Jefferson County, Ky.-Ind.	3.2%	-50.2%	11 days faster
Madison, Wis.	4.1%	-41.4%	10 days faster
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas	20.0%	-46.3%	30 days faster
Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark.	11.6%	-49.2%	14 days faster
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla.	2.5%	-15.6%	1 days faster
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis.	3.5%	-38.9%	5 days faster
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis.	2.4%	-29.6%	8 days faster
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, Tenn.	8.1%	-44.2%	5 days faster
New Haven-Milford, Conn.	7.6%	-21.5%	28 days faster
New Orleans-Metairie, La.	15.5%	-38.4%	9 days faster
New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa.	12.7%	-5.6%	4 days faster
North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.	3.5%	-34.6%	19 days faster
Oklahoma City, Okla.	8.8%	-40.2%	6 days faster
Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa	5.4%	-46.7%	11 days slower
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla.	1.6%	-20.1%	5 days faster
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif.	7.7%	-39.8%	13 days faster
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla.	6.6%	-40.9%	7 days faster
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md.	16.8%	-42.0%	11 days faster
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.	9.5%	-46.1%	7 days faster
Pittsburgh, Pa.	25.3%	-36.1%	10 days faster
Portland-South Portland, Maine	11.4%	-46.0%	34 days faster
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore.-Wash.	10.1%	-43.4%	2 days faster
Providence-Warwick, R.I.-Mass.	5.3%	-52.3%	9 days faster
Raleigh, N.C.	6.3%	-45.7%	10 days faster
Richmond, Va.	13.5%	-49.1%	8 days faster
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.	14.9%	-52.8%	12 days faster
Rochester, N.Y.	12.5%	-42.8%	12 days faster
Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, Calif.	12.5%	-47.3%	15 days faster
Salt Lake City, Utah	14.0%	-50.6%	11 days faster
San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	5.0%	-40.6%	9 days faster
San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif.	11.1%	-24.3%	19 days faster
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif.	10.7%	-2.9%	3 days faster
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.	9.1%	-16.4%	11 days faster
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, Pa.	21.6%	-53.2%	34 days faster
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.	5.8%	-30.9%	10 days faster
Spokane-Spokane Valley, Wash.	11.4%	-49.6%	3 days faster
Springfield, Mass.	20.9%	-45.9%	14 days faster
St. Louis, Mo.-Ill.	11.2%	-38.5%	9 days faster
Stockton-Lodi, Calif.	4.9%	-62.7%	6 days faster
Syracuse, N.Y.	11.1%	-42.9%	7 days faster
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.	10.7%	-42.5%	12 days faster
Toledo, Ohio	13.2%	-39.8%	10 days faster
Tucson, Ariz.	3.8%	-41.8%	6 days faster
Tulsa, Okla.	12.9%	-40.0%	10 days faster
Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	-10.9%	26.1%	3 days slower
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-N.C.	6.7%	-46.8%	21 days faster
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-Va.-Md.-W. Va.	4.6%	-37.6%	6 days faster
Wichita, Kan.	8.1%	-38.3%	14 days faster
Winston-Salem, N.C.	7.5%	-48.2%	16 days faster
Worcester, Mass.-Conn.	11.0%	-51.6%	24 days faster
Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa.	11.9%	-52.8%	21 days faster

 

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 contact:
Janice McDill, janice.mcdill@move.com, 312.307.3134

 

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-weekly-housing-report-housing-market-shows-signs-of-stabilizing-but-will-it-relieve-weary-buyers-301157722.html

SOURCE realtor.com

FAQ

What does the latest realtor.com Weekly Housing Report indicate for the week ending Oct. 17, 2020?

The report shows a slight slowdown in home price growth, with median listing prices rising 11.1% YoY and homes selling 13 days faster on average.

What is the current median home price reported by realtor.com?

The current median home price is $350,000.

How is the housing market recovering as of October 2020?

The Housing Market Recovery Index reached 111.0, reflecting ongoing buyer demand despite low inventory and fewer new listings.

How many days do homes average on the market as of October 2020?

Homes are selling on average in 53 days, which is 13 days faster than the previous year.