New listings will be key in maintaining sales growth into peak homebuying season
Home sales in April posted solid growth compared to last year, but sales in 2018 so far only increased slightly compared to 2017, according to a Redfin report.
April home sales were up 5.2% from last year, but sales from January through April were just 1.5% higher than they were in the same period in 2017.
Meanwhile, the national median home sale price increased 7.6% in April from a year ago, reaching $302,200 across the 174 markets that Redfin tracks. Redfin said this was the first time the national median home price has surpassed the $300,000 mark.
"Despite rising prices and low inventory, sales in 2018 so far are slightly higher than last year, which was the best year on record since the 2006 housing boom," Redfin Chief Economist Nela Richardson said. "As we enter peak homebuying season, new listings will be key in maintaining sales growth and moderating the rapid price increases we've seen this year."
New for-sale listings in April increased 5.7%. The gain follows the lackluster number of new listings that went on the market in the first three months of the year. Despite the increase, inventory remains in a shortage, with home supply dropping 9.2% year over year in April.
In April, homes sold typically went under contract in 36 days. The month’s sales were six days faster than a year earlier and faster than any month Redfin has recorded going back to 2010. Among homes that sold last month, 26.2% sold above their list price, up from 24.9% last April. The average sale-to-list price ratio was 98.8%, also the highest on record.
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