Dive Brief:
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Homes prices rose 7.7% in November from a year ago, pushing the median sales price to $271,400, according to real estate website Redfin. The rise was the largest year-over-year increase in 14 months.
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Fort Lauderdale, FL, topped the list of annual price gains at 18.4% ($225,000) while prices in San Francisco fell 2.2% ($1.1 million).
- The number of homes sold rose 20.1% in November from a year ago to 219,900 but were down 6% from October. The volume of all homes for sale dropped 9.7% year over year to 742,200 and was down 7.9% from October.
Dive Insight:
U.S. home prices continue to rise and the latest figures from Redfin add weight to the growing sentiment that the market remains fairly robust despite a recent decision by the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates for the second time in a decade.
Redfin Chief Economist Nela Richardson said in a release that she does not expect the Fed rate rise to “significantly dampen” homebuyer enthusiasm moving into 2017, instead forecasting further price increases and modest gains in home sales.
Other recent data suggest that the market remains healthy, with the Fed reporting last week that limited inventory and strong demand increased real estate values $554 billion in the third quarter.
A lingering shortage of housing inventory and forecasts of higher prices continue to buoy homebuilder confidence, with the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market index hitting its highest reading since July 2005 in December.
Last week, Redfin said it expects median home prices to increase 5.3% in 2017 compared to an expected 5.5% rise this year, while existing homes sales are expected to climb 2.8% in 2017 compared to the estimated 3.4% increase in 2016.
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