January started off strong for the housing market, with healthy buyer demand and strong market fundamentals. A robust increase in housing starts in December points to an active year for new construction, but higher material costs, especially lumber, and a limited supply of buildable lots will temper the number of new units.
New Listings decreased 34.0 percent for Single Family homes and 4.1 percent for Condominium homes. Pending Sales increased 25.8 percent for Single Family homes and 65.0 percent for Condominium homes. Inventory decreased 49.3 percent for Single Family homes but increased 9.7 percent for Condominium homes.
Median Sales Price increased 26.0 percent to $980,000 for Single Family homes but decreased 0.4 percent to $560,000 for Condominium homes. Days on Market increased 5.1 percent for Single Family homes and 8.3 percent for Condominium homes. Months Supply of Inventory decreased 47.2 percent for Single Family homes but increased 32.5 percent for Condominium homes.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s January research estimates approximately 2.7 million homeowners with mortgages are currently in forbearance plans. Some of these homes may eventually come to market, but given the strong appreciation in most market segments in recent years, these eventual home sales are likely to be mostly traditional sellers. However, a modest increase in short sales and foreclosures at some point this year would not be surprising.