Pending Home Sales Slump as Listing Shortages, Holidays Crimp Demand
Pending sales and property viewings in December fell to the lowest level since the start of 2021, a Redfin report showed.
January 6, 2022 3 MIN
Pending sales and property viewings in December fell to the lowest level since the start of 2021, a Redfin report showed.
Some of the nation's highest-flying markets in 2021 may see the smallest gains this year, the CoreLogic forecast said.
Pending home sales declined 2.2% as buyers competed for a shrinking pool of available properties, according to a report on Wednesday.
Prices for U.S. homes gained 18.4% in October, six times the increase recorded in the year before the pandemic began, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index.
The median U.S. sales price of a new home in November was $416,900, up 18.8% from a year earlier, according to a Commerce Department report.
Sales of existing homes rose 1.9% in November as homebuyers rushed to lock in low interest rates, NAR said in a report.
Homebuilder confidence rose to a 10-month high in December, signaling an expanded supply of new houses available for sale next year.
The breakneck pace of home price gains made it tough to be a first-time property buyer in the third quarter, according to NAR data.
The median sale price for a home rose to $360,250 during the four-week period ending Dec. 5, a gain of 14% from a year earlier, the report said.
Prices for detached single-family homes surged as people searched for low-density living quarters during the pandemic, CoreLogic said.
