December’s declining home sales and growing inventory solidified 2018 as the year the red-hot seller’s market moved toward a balanced market. Price growth also moderated, though December was the 33rd consecutive month of year-over-year increases in home prices, as reported by the December 2018 RE/MAX National Housing Report, which includes 53 metro areas.
2018 Home Sales Settle Down, While Inventory Rebounds,
Price Increases Carry on
“December’s inventory gain, continuing the three-month growth trend, is welcome news,” said RE/MAX CEO Adam Contos. “The market remains choppy and there’s still a long way to go, but these gains represent steps toward a balanced market, which in the long run is healthy for both buyers and sellers.”
Inventory Recovers
Most telling was December’s 4.6% increase in inventory, which was also a report record. December’s year-over-year inventory increase marked the third consecutive month of growth – a trend reversing a decade-long streak of year-over-year inventory declines.
Home Sales Cool
December’s year-over-year decline in home sales of 12.1% set a December record in the 10-year history of the report and also marked the fifth consecutive month that home sales were less than 2017. December was 2018’s 10th month of year-over-year declines in home sales with only April and July topping 2017 sales.
Median Sales Price Increased
Home buyers paid record amounts throughout 2018 as prices grew year-over-year in every month this past year, led by June’s Median Sold Price of $258,500 – an all-time report high. Nevertheless, December’s year-over-year increase of 2.1% was 2018’s smallest, and far less than the 8.1% price growth from December 2016 to December 2017.
“Home sales have cooled, especially during the second half of 2018, but that was inevitable given the strong seller’s market that has persisted for nearly a decade,” Contos said. “We believe sales activity can pick back up if the pace of price escalation continues to moderate, interest rates tick further downward and wage growth continues.”
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