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In a monthly survey of REALTORS®, the survey asks, “Compared to the original listing price, at how much of a net discount or net premium did the property sell?”
According to a survey of REALTORS® who responded to the January 2018 REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey, 34 percent of properties that closed in January 2018 sold at or above the list price. One year ago, 31 percent sold at or above the list price, and during the months of January in 2012 through 2015, about one in four sold at or above the list price. Buyer demand continues to outpace supply of homes being listed for sale in the market, sustaining the upward pressure on home prices.
According to respondents who reported closing a sale, 11 percent of properties sold at a net premium in January 2018, the same share in 2017, but seemingly an increase from the nine percent share in 2014 and 2015. Of properties that sold at a premium, 86 percent sold at 101 to 110 percent of the list price.
Lack of inventory, which has pushed up prices, continues to erode home affordability. At the current sales’ pace, the inventory of homes for sale in January 2018 will be exhausted in 3.2 months, well below the norm of six months that keeps demand and supply at a healthy balance. Since 2012, median home prices have cumulatively increased by 56 percent, nearly four times the 14 percent cumulative change in earnings during the same period.
