Wall Street History

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Wall Street History

01/25/2021

Housing Update

Time for my quarterly update of the housing situation in the United States, using the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) database for existing home prices.

This time we look back at the second half of the year. The average median home price was up a whopping 12.9% in December over a year ago to $309,800.  Additionally, overall sales surged 22.2% to a 6.76 million seasonally-adjusted annual rate vs. 5.53 million in Dec. 2019, the highest level since 2006.

The following is the national median home price.

2020

July….$305,500
Aug….$310,400
Sept….$311,400
Oct…..$313,100
Nov….$310,900
Dec….$309,800 [preliminary]

2019

July....$280,400
Aug....$278,900
Sept....$271,500
Oct.....$271,000
Nov....$271,300
Dec....$274,500

2018

July....$269,300
Aug...$265,600
Sept...$256,900
Oct....$255,100
Nov...$257,300
Dec....$254,700

2017

July....$258,100
Aug...$253,100
Sept...$247,600
Oct.....$246,000
Nov....$247,200
Dec....$246,500

2016

July....$243,300
Aug....$239,900
Sept...$235,300
Oct....$234,100
Nov...$234,400
Dec....$233,300

2015

July....$231,800
Aug....$228,500
Sept....$221,700
Oct.....$219,100
Nov....$220,000
Dec....$223,200

2014

July....$221,600
Aug....$218,400
Sept...$209,100
Oct....$207,500
Nov...$207,200
Dec...$208,200

2013

July....$212,400
Aug....$209,700
Sept...$198,500
Oct....$197,500
Nov...$195,500
Dec....$197,700

2012

July....$187,800
Aug....$184,900
Sept...$178,300
Oct....$176,900
Nov...$179,400
Dec...$180,200

2011

July…$171,200
Aug…$171,200
Sept…$165,300
Oct….$160,800
Nov…$164,000
Dec…$162,200

2010

July…$182,100
Aug…$177,300
Sept…$171,400
Oct….$170,600
Nov…$170,200
Dec…$168,800

2009

July…$181,300
Aug…$177,200
Sept…$175,900
Oct….$172,000
Nov…$170,000
Dec…$170,500

Using the NAR’s data, the median average for a full year was as follows.

2004…$185,200
2005…$219,600
2006…$221,900*
2007…$219,000
2008…$198,100
2009…$172,500
2010…$172,900
2011…$166,100
2012....$176,800
2013....$197,100
2014....$208,300
2015....$222,400
2016....$233,800
2017....$247,200
2018....$259,300
2019....$271,800
2020…$296,500

*Existing home prices first peaked in July 2006 at $230,200, according to NAR. You can play around with the numbers but generally you’re talking there was then a ‘formal’ decline of 30%, peak to trough, nationally, after the summer of ’06, before the big rebound. Today we are up to $313,100 (this past October).

But inventory is down to a record-low 1.9 months vs. 3.0 mos. a year earlier, and 4.8 mos. in May 2020.

Source: realtor.org

Wall Street History will return in a few weeks.

Brian Trumbore

 

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