U.S. home sales increase nearly 21% for March amid continued seller's market
Sales of new single-family houses at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.021 million units up from 846,000 in February, Census Bureau data shows
Housing market seeing huge supply issue: NAHB CEO
National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) CEO Jerry Howard on the latest home builder sentiment numbers and housing affordability in the US.
Homes sales continue to skyrocket as more Americans invest in their living spaces post-pandemic despite low inventory.
The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Friday reported a 20.7% increase on sales of new single-family houses at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.021 million units up from 846,000 in February. Home sales skyrocketed 66.8% above the March 2020 estimate of 612,000 home sales when the pandemic first hit, according to the data.
BIDDING WARS HEAT UP AMID RED HOT HOUSING MARKET
Buyers continue to heat up the real estate market across the country amid low housing inventory with home prices continuing to surge. The median sales price of new houses sold in March 2021 was $330,800, and the average sales price was $397,800, up from an average of $346,400 in January, Census Bureau data shows.
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"Consumers are facing much higher home prices, rising mortgage rates, and falling affordability, however, buyers are still actively in the market," Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Relator’s said in a statement.
Indeed, hopeful homeowners are bidding over the asking prices for homes in the ultra-competitive market, dropping contingencies for home inspections and appraisals, and even pushing the closing dates up to within a 30-day time frame to stay competitive.
And buyers who act and close fast seem to be sealing the deals. Close to 18% of offers waiving the appraisal and 13% that bypassed home inspection contingencies were successful between Sept. 2020 and Feb. 2021, according to separate data from real estate marketplace Redfin.
Caroline Joyce contributed to this report