Published by FOX Business | January 5, 2022
Existing home sales were up in November at the fastest pace seen since last January.
Compass Executive Vice President Mike Aubrey argued on Wednesday that 2022 will still experience a “really good real estate market,” but acknowledged that the “frenzy of 2021” likely won’t happen again.
Aubrey stressed, however, that the market will “remain very strong” in 2022.
“If you look at the effect of COVID on lots of industries, it’s been a bad effect,” Aubrey said on Wednesday, noting that “it has been the exact opposite in real estate.”
He added that he believes the boost is in large part a result of people “now seeing their home no longer as just a home, but as a place of work, as a gym [and] as a school.”
Existing home sales were up in November at the fastest pace seen since last January, according to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
The NAR revealed late last month that previously occupied home sales went up 1.9% in November from the month before to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 6.46 million units. That’s the sharpest increase in 10 months, but sales were down 2% compared to November 2020.
“The annualized sales pace saw the strongest reading since January 2021, but was also accompanied by a 10% drop in for-sale inventory,” Mortgage Bankers Association associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting Joel Kan said in a statement.
The national median home price also saw a boost in November to $353,900, up 13.9% from the same month last year as low inventory continues to drive up demand for houses on the market.
“Buyers continued to snap up available homes, as for-sale listings only lasted 18 days on the market,” Kan said. “This swift competition continues to exert upward pressure on sales prices, overall home-price growth, and is impacting prospective first-time buyers.”
Kan did, however, indicated optimism regarding inventory.
“The U.S. Census Bureau’s recent release on housing starts indicated a surge in new construction and permitting activity in November, which will hopefully start to help ease the housing supply shortages the market is facing,” he said.
Homebuilder sentiment held steady in December, according to The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, which rose one point to 84 last month. The number ties the highest reading of the year that was posted in February.
The index can range between 0 and 100 with any print over 50 indicating positive sentiment. Any reading above 80 signals strong demand.
