New home sales, which measures signed contracts on new homes, were up 21% in March, and the February number was revised higher, as well.
Taking out the revision, sales would be up 32% from last month’s original number.
Sales are up 67% on a year over year basis, although that is a little bit skewed, due to the economy being shut down this time last year.
Looking at inventory levels – there were only 307,000 new homes for sale in March, down 7% from last year. There are 14% fewer homes for sale under $300,000 compared to last year. The Median home price was reported at $331,000 up not even 1% from last year.
Appreciation
Home prices continue to increase across the country, as the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index report showed a 12% annual gain in February — up from 11.2% in January.
Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are the leading measures of U.S. residential real estate prices, tracking changes in the value of residential real estate nationally.
It’s the ninth straight month of increasing prices. The 12% home price gain is the highest recorded increase in the last 15 years!
Phoenix, San Diego, and Seattle reported the highest year-over-year home price gains among the 20 cities in February, with Phoenix leading the way with a 17.4% increase from 2020. San Diego showed a 17% increase, and Seattle showed a 15.4% increase.
“Some recent signs suggest that the historically tight inventory pressures may finally be starting to ease,” said Zillow Economist Matthew Speakman.
“Should those signs materialize, the meteoric rise in home prices may finally have a reason to come back down to earth. For now, red hot home price appreciation shows few signs of cooling.”
