New Listings Can’t Keep Up With Insatiable U.S. Housing Demand, Driving Price Growth

Demand from U.S. home buyers outstripped supply in December, helping drive the median sale price up 13% year-over-year to $334,300, according to new data from Redfin on Thursday.

Cold weather and the onset of the holiday season did little to take the heat out of home sales last month, with buyers signing contracts faster than new listings could hit the market. Last month, there were 35% more pending home sales than a year prior but only 14% more new listings, according to Redfin, an imbalance that has contributed to bidding wars and rising home prices nationwide.

Every single one of the 85 metro markets Redfin tracks logged annual price growth in December.

Cheap borrowing costs, paired with shifting housing needs during the pandemic, continued to spur buyers to enter the market. That activity already appears to have carried over into the new year, with mortgage applications for home purchases last week up 10% over a year ago, according to a separate report from the Mortgage Bankers Association this week.

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