Redfin Reports Record-Breaking Median Home Prices

National median home sale price hit a record high of $377,200, up 26% from last year, according to a new Redfin report. 

Other records were broken according to Redfin data: the number of homes for sale fell 27% from last year; the typical home sold in just 16 days; 54% of homes sold above their list price; the average sale-to-list ratio hit an all-time high of 102.2%, meaning the average home sold for 2.2% above asking price. Comparisons to May’s monthly figures could be exaggerated due to pandemic-driven lockdowns slowing down home buying and selling. 

Redfin lead economist, Taylor Marr, said, “May marked the likely peak of the blazing hot pandemic housing market, as many buyers and sellers are vaccinated and returning to pre-pandemic spending patterns. Sellers are still squarely in the drivers' seat, but buyers have hit a limit on their willingness to pay. The affordability boost from low mortgage rates has been offset by high home price growth.”

The number of homes sold in May was up 46% from last year, but down 0.7% from April. Compared to May of last year, home sales increased in all 85 of the largest metros Redfin keeps track of.  Median sale prices also increased in all 85 largest metros with the largest in Austin, TX (+42%), Phoenix, AZ (+33%), and Detroit (+32%). To put this into context, a suburban Austin home with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms increased from around $330,000 to $470,000 year-over-year in May. 

Only 7 of the 85 largest metros had an increase in active listings, including Philadelphia (+14%), New York (+13%), and San Francisco (+12%) with the biggest gains. New listings fell in 18 of the 85 largest U.S. metros. Seasonally adjusted new home sales were up 12% in May from a year earlier, but down 14% from the same time in 2019.

To read the full Redfin report, including graphs and metro-level data, click the link provided.