Median Home Sale Price Jumps 16 Percent In 2021

The median home sale price now stands at $361,225. This marks a 16% increase, according to a report from Redfin. Despite the rise in home sale price, sellers are beginning to drop their asking price at an increased rate.

The report also revealed that pending home sales have cooled seasonally, however, they are still up 10% year-over-year. Homebuying demand is still quite strong but that's not to say that sellers have lost control over the market at the moment. 

“Demand for homes is making a comeback because even though home prices are high and competition is still steep, homebuyers don't have many alternatives but to keep trying,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “This continued demand for homes is enticing more homeowners to sell in order to avoid the fear of missing out on historically high prices. This enthusiasm from both buyers and sellers is translating into continued growth in pending sales compared to last year.”

According to the report, 49% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market. This was above the 44% rate during the same period a year ago, but down 8% from the 2021 peak, set during the four-week period ending March 28, 2021.

Meanwhile, the asking price of newly listed homes increased 10% year-over-year to a median of $351,730, which marks the lowest level since mid-April 2021, according to Redfin.  Additionally, mortgage purchase applications increased 3% week-over-week (seasonally adjusted) during the week ending August 20, 2021. For the week ending August 19, 30-year mortgage rates fell slightly to 2.86%.

Learn more from Redfin's latest analysis on the median home sale price and other market-related metrics.