Skip to main content

Driven By Most Expensive Homes Existing Home Sales Hit Highest Level Since Recession

ARLINGTON, Va.—Existing-home sales rose 0.7% in December to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 6.76 million units, representing a 22.2% increase in sales versus a year ago. The existing-home sales in 2020 were at their highest level since the Great Recession.

"The major headwind for the housing market is record low inventory, now down to 1.9 months of supply," said Curt Long, NAFCU's chief economist and vice president of research. "Demand for higher-priced homes is especially strong, with sales of homes priced over $1 million up 94% compared to this time last year.

"Housing starts are also up 5.8% in December, but it will take plenty more to ease the supply crunch," added Long. "In the meantime, prices will continue to soar. The combination of low mortgage rates and supply shortages should result in a steady pace for home sales in 2021."

Sales rose in two regions in December. The Northwest was up 27.4% versus December 2019, followed by the Midwest (+26.2%), South (+20.7%), and West (+17.9%). Versus a year ago, sales were up in all regions over the month.

Million-Dollar Listings

Added Brian Turner, president and chief economist with Meridian Economics in Dallas, “:ow supply and strong demand continued to raise the heat under home prices. The median price of an existing home sold in December was $309,800, a 12.9% increase compared with December 2019 and the highest December median price on record. Part of the sharp increase in the median price is that home sales are stronger on the higher end of the market, where there is more supply. Sales of homes priced below $100,000 were down 15% annually in December, while sales of homes priced between $500,000 and $750,000 were up 65% annually. Sales of million-dollar-plus homes were up 94% from one year ago.”
 


Comments

Post a Comment

Please no profanity or political comments.

Popular posts from this blog

What Does PTSD in a Firefighter Look Like? A New Brain Scan Can Show You

Link Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often described as one of the invisible scars that firefighters and others accumulate after years of dealing with trauma in their jobs. Now the scars are invisible no longer. A new tool—the SPECT scan—is offering a new way for firefighters and others with PTSD to visualize their injuries. SPECT stands for single photon emission computed tomography, and it creates 3-D scans of the patient’s brain that look at blood flow and brain activity, KTLA reports. Those scans can then be used to generate a treatment plan tailored to the specific patient based on the visual effects of PTSD. Retired Firefighter-Paramedic Matthew Fiorenza, a PTSD sufferer, told the station that the scans also help make the illness more tangible. “Looking at a picture of my brain, it just took the stigma out of it,” he told KTLA. “It’s like, okay, I’m not crazy.”  
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

The Pros and Cons of Tariffs

Since there has been so much discussion on Tariffs, I felt a post would benefit our membership. Grant Sheehan CEO NCOFCU Tariffs 1440 Business & Finance Background A tariff—a word derived from the Arabic arafa, meaning “to make known”— is a tax imposed by a government on goods that are imported or exported . Historically, tariffs have served as a primary source of revenue and a means to protect domestic industries, as they make foreign products more expensive, encouraging consumers to purchase locally produced goods. The tools have a checkered history, famously bolstering US textiles, German steel, Japanese cars, South Korean technology, and more, arguably contributing to major economic downturns like the Great Depression. Tariffs can be specific (a fixed fee per unit) or ad valorem (a percentage of the item's value). Purpose Economically, tariffs aim to protect domestic industries, generate government revenue, and influence trade policy. By imposing taxes on imported goods —wh...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Advice On Winning Over Gen Z In ’25

NEW YORK—As 2025 approaches the close of Q1, how can credit unions win over Gen Z? By tailoring credit rewards for a digital-first generation, a new report recommends. Gen Z is reshaping the workforce and redefining financial behaviors. As of 2024, this generation is poised to surpass Baby Boomers in workforce size and will make up 30% of the workforce by 2030. This rapid growth presents a major opportunity for financial institutions to tap into a younger, digitally native audience with distinct spending habits and financial needs, emphasized a GlobalData report authored by Zachary Johnson, specialist, campaign execution & strategy, financial services at VDX.tv. “Unlike previous generations, Gen Z’s economic journey has been shaped by inflation and delayed career starts due to the pandemic and skyrocketing living costs. These factors have made them highly dependent on credit, with Gen Zers being 23% more likely to own a credit card than Millennials at the same age, and carrying...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Hauptman Announces Changes to NCUA’s Overdraft/NSF Fee Collection

      Hauptman Announces Changes to NCUA’s Overdraft/NSF Fee Collection WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 3, 2025) – To help ensure credit unions can continue to support the needs of Americans struggling with inflation, the National Credit Union Administration will no longer publish overdraft and non-sufficient fund fee income for individual credit unions, Chairman Kyle S. Hauptman announced today. The NCUA will ...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Share Insurance Fund Report Highlights Asset, Income Growth in Q4 2024

      Share Insurance Fund Report Highlights Asset, Income Growth in Q4 2024 ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Feb. 27, 2025) – The National Credit Union Administration Board held its second open meeting of 2025 and received a briefing by the Chief Financial Officer on the performance of the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund for the quarter ending on December 31, 2024. The Share Insurance Fund reported a net income of ...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»