Typically a slower month for sales, January 2022 is shaping up to be a record-setting month.
According to new data out from Redfin, 45 percent of sellers entered contract within two weeks of their property hitting the market this month. And 35 percent went under contract within a week—both rates hitting new highs for the month of January, according to Redfin.
However, due to a lack of supply, pending sales posted their first annual decline since June 2020, down 1 percent during the four weeks ending January 23.
“The early spring is poised to be the hottest housing market on record; we may start to see most homes going under contract within two weeks, but these conditions are likely to be short-lived,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “Now that the stock market is down about 10 percent from the start of the year and mortgage rates are up nearly half a point, the housing market could lose its luster soon. If that happens, I expect the inventory shortage to finally reach its nadir because overpriced homes will start to pile up on the market.”
New listings fell 12 percent for the four-week period ending January 23, the largest drop since June 2020. This brought the total number of homes for sale to another new low of 440,000.
The median asking price, though, climbed 13 percent over the four week period to $360,281, just shy of October’s all-time high. Some 41 percent of homes sold above list price, up from 32 percent a year earlier.