According to data released this week by Corelogic, a third of homes sold in September were sold at or above list price.
Moreover, the share of homes sold above list price that month recovered to early 2004 levels.
According to CoreLogic, a decade after the financial crisis, home price indexes and home sales are returning to pre-crisis levels.
In some areas, prices and sales have reached new highs. With demand strong and inventory thin, a greater share of homes have sold this year at or above their listing price.
The share of homes sold above listing price almost tripled the trough seen in January 2008, and represented more than one-fifth of September sales, according to CoreLogic.
The data also found that San Francisco, Calif. had the largest share of homes selling at or above list price in September at 76 percent, followed by Seattle, Wash., at 63 percent and Los Angeles, Calif., at 51 percent.
Miami had the lowest share – 16 percent – of homes selling at or above the list price in September 2017.
Indeed, home prices finished the year strong, up 6.8 percent in December year-over-year, according to Redfin.
“Like last year, low inventory will be the biggest driver of the 2018 real estate market,” said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson. “Major housing market dynamics don’t shift dramatically when the clock strikes midnight on Jan. 1. We anticipate a continuation of the same trends we’ve been seeing for the past few years. Price growth will remain strong as many homeowners will remain deterred from selling due to the low mortgage rates they’ve locked in and the high price of their would-be move-up home.”
The number of homes newly listed for sale in December decreased 3 percent. With just 2.6 months of supply in December, the market was far below the six months of supply that represents balance between buyers and sellers.
