Led by Phoenix home sales, last month’s home sales posted the highest year-over-year gain for January in 11 years, increasing an average of 10.5 percent in the 54 metro areas covered by the RE/MAX National Housing Report for January 2020
Meanwhile, the 15.6 percent year-over-year drop in inventory was the largest decline since May 2017 and marked the seventh consecutive month of year-over-year shrinkage in the number of U.S. homes for sale.
Key highlights of the report include:
• Home sales in Phoenix continued to soar with a nearly 20% increase year-over-year.
• Inventory remains extremely constricted with the months supply steadily decreasing since January 2019.
• Home sellers in Phoenix continue to enjoy favorable conditions with a steady rise in median sales price and decrease in the number of days on market.
Despite very low inventory, January and December (+13.5%) marked the first back-to-back months with double-digit year-over-year growth in home sales since June and July of 2015.
“Strong buyer demand continues to be the defining theme in the housing market,” said Adam Contos, CEO of RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. “January sales were encouraging, and were likely pushed in part by millennials coming into the market. It’s a massive group of people, with many of them forming households and looking to buy their first homes. Affordability and limited supply are still constraints, but overall, housing is in a much better place than it was a year ago.”
January’s Median Sales Price of $256,000 – though 3.4% below December – was 8.9% higher than January 2019 and extended the string of year-over-year price increases to 13 months.
In the nearly 12-year history of the report, three January records were set or tied last month:
• Fewest Months Supply of Inventory: 3.1
• Fewest Days on Market: 59 (tied with January 2019)
• Highest Median Sales Price: $256,000
