Home prices surged in November by 6.8 percent from last year, the biggest increase since April. Sales were flat, up just 0.9 percent, with low inventory, down 4.7 percent, largely to blame. November marked the tenth consecutive month of year-over-year inventory declines.
Sixteen of the 68 markets tracked by Redfin still saw year-over-year price growth in the double digits. While this has become the norm for several hot West Coast markets, Charleston, SC and Memphis, TN also made the list, with year-over-year price increases of 11 percent and 12.3 percent, respectively.
Redfin’s South Carolina market manager Jim Brown explains Charleston’s home-price bump by pointing to the many new job opportunities created by Boeing’s decision to assemble the 787-10 Dreamliner exclusively in Charleston. A large increase in workers, coupled with Charleston’s abnormally low inventory, created a perfect storm for hikes in home prices, which were up 9.6 percent month over month in November.
In Memphis, where prices were up 8.1 percent from October, “we’re seeing an influx of millennials moving to town, and this new pool of homebuyers is creating more and more competition,” said Redfin agent Karen Walker. “Millennials are attracted to Memphis by plentiful job opportunities, affordable homes and a low cost of living compared to other big cities.”
Across Redfin markets, new for-sale listings rose 8.4 percent, the largest year-over-year increase since April, providing some hope for a pickup in inventory over the next few months. Months of supply increased for the fourth month to 4.2, up from a low of 2.8 in June. The national housing market is still about two months shy of a balanced market between buyers and sellers.
The typical home sat on the market 38 days, seven fewer than the same time last year.
You can download data from the November Market Tracker in an Excel Spreadsheet.
For additional local analysis, see: Chicago | Los Angeles | San Francisco | Washington, D.C.
Methodology: Redfin’s National Market Tracker follows housing trends in the country’s largest metropolitan divisions (those with population 500,000 or greater) served by Redfin agents. Analysis by Redfin is based on all residential home sales transacted on the multiple-listing service and supplemented by county recorder data where available. Data may be subject to revision. Metropolitan divisions are based the latest definitions released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. To view a breakdown of these regions, click here.
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Email: press@redfin.com
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