# “Transactions close in about three weeks”: 14-year record in U.S. home sales figures

** In stark contrast to almost every other industry, the U.S. real estate market continued to thrive during the Corona period, and sales figures for existing homes reached numbers not seen since 2006. Chief Economist of the Real Estate Agents Association: “Millions more homes were sold over the past year If there was a suitable stock for it “**

The corona plague has caused an unprecedented economic crisis across the United States, but it turns out that there is at least one area that has not been affected at all: the real estate market, as during 2020 the level of demand for homes rose to a 14-year high. And yet, the main obstacle that prevents the level of demand from rising even further is the small amount of homes offered for sale.

Earlier this week, a summary report for 2020 was published by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The report shows that during the past month, the number of real estate transactions closed increased (in terms of seasonal adjustment ) By 0.7%, to 6.76 million.

On the one hand, the slight increase indicates that the low house inventory in the market prevents further transactions. But on the other hand, it can be seen that this is an increase of 22% compared to the seasonal data published in December 2019.

In fact, it was a very strange year for the US real estate market: after sales figures plummeted in March and April, there was a sudden sharp increase in the number of home buyers. Without a seasonal calculation, 5.64 million different housing units were sold in December – the highest figure recorded since 2006.

“I think it would have been possible to reach 8 million homes sold, without a seasonal calculation, if there was a suitable inventory,” explains Lawrence Ion, chief economist at the Association of Real Estate Agents. “Mortgage rates are expected to remain low during 2021, but they may They have already dropped to a low point and will return to rise soon. ”

The figure that best illustrates the situation in the real estate market is the number of homes offered for sale as of the end of December – 1.07 million – which is 23% lower than in the last week of December 2019. Moreover, at the current rate of sales, this is an inventory that will last for at least two months.

Most interestingly, when looking at the sales data by the amount of the sale itself, one can see a clear trend: compared to December 2019, there was a 15% decrease in the amount of homes sold for $ 100,000 or less. In contrast, in homes with prices ranging from half a million dollars to 750,000 dollars, there was an increase of 65%, while an increase of 94% was recorded in homes that sold more than a million dollars.

An interesting phenomenon recorded in December and noted in the NAR report is the average time required to complete the sale transaction (i.e., from the day the home is first offered for sale, to the moment of signing the sale agreement). This figure now averages 21 days only: “This is very unusual, especially for December because it is the holiday season, and we usually see homes staying on the market for additional weeks during this period,” Yun concludes.

https://construction.hebrewnews.com/article/780

Link to the original post in the United States Real Estate Forum on Facebook – works on a desktop computer (To view the post, there must be friends who have been approved for the forum)

The original responses to the post can be read at the bottom of the current post page on the website or at the link to the post on Facebook and of course you are welcome to join the discussion

# “Transactions close in about three weeks”: 14-year record in U.S. home sales figures

** In stark contrast to almost every other industry, the U.S. real estate market continued to thrive during the Corona period, and sales figures for existing homes reached numbers not seen since 2006. Chief Economist of the Real Estate Agents Association: “Millions more homes were sold over the past year If there was a suitable stock for it “**

The corona plague has caused an unprecedented economic crisis across the United States, but it turns out that there is at least one area that has not been affected at all: the real estate market, as during 2020 the level of demand for homes rose to a 14-year high. And yet, the main obstacle that prevents the level of demand from rising even further is the small amount of homes offered for sale.

Earlier this week, a summary report for 2020 was published by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The report shows that during the past month, the number of real estate transactions closed increased (in terms of seasonal adjustment ) By 0.7%, to 6.76 million.

On the one hand, the slight increase indicates that the low house inventory in the market prevents further transactions. But on the other hand, it can be seen that this is an increase of 22% compared to the seasonal data published in December 2019.

In fact, it was a very strange year for the US real estate market: after sales figures plummeted in March and April, there was a sudden sharp increase in the number of home buyers. Without a seasonal calculation, 5.64 million different housing units were sold in December – the highest figure recorded since 2006.

“I think it would have been possible to reach 8 million homes sold, without a seasonal calculation, if there was a suitable inventory,” explains Lawrence Ion, chief economist at the Association of Real Estate Agents. “Mortgage rates are expected to remain low during 2021, but they may They have already dropped to a low point and will return to rise soon. ”

The figure that best illustrates the situation in the real estate market is the number of homes offered for sale as of the end of December – 1.07 million – which is 23% lower than in the last week of December 2019. Moreover, at the current rate of sales, this is an inventory that will last for at least two months.

Most interestingly, when looking at the sales data by the amount of the sale itself, one can see a clear trend: compared to December 2019, there was a 15% decrease in the amount of homes sold for $ 100,000 or less. In contrast, in homes with prices ranging from half a million dollars to 750,000 dollars, there was an increase of 65%, while an increase of 94% was recorded in homes that sold more than a million dollars.

An interesting phenomenon recorded in December and noted in the NAR report is the average time required to complete the sale transaction (i.e., from the day the home is first offered for sale, to the moment of signing the sale agreement). This figure now averages 21 days only: “This is very unusual, especially for December because it is the holiday season, and we usually see homes staying on the market for additional weeks during this period,” Yun concludes.

https://construction.hebrewnews.com/article/780

Link to the original post in the United States Real Estate Forum on Facebook – works on a desktop computer (To view the post, there must be friends who have been approved for the forum)

The original responses to the post can be read at the bottom of the current post page on the website or at the link to the post on Facebook and of course you are welcome to join the discussion