2024 Housing Market 12 months In Assessment

14 housing tendencies that outlined the 12 months, together with document home costs, a mortgage fee rollercoaster, and a gross sales sea-saw

The 2024 housing market in some ways mirrored 2023: too few houses available on the market, and never sufficient consumers prepared to face excessive costs and mortgage charges. This pushed home costs increased and saved affordability traditionally low – outstanding, on condition that 2023 ended because the least inexpensive 12 months for homebuying on document. Practically 40% of renters thought they’d by no means personal a house. 

The market was so tough that the median homebuying age jumped to a document 56 years old – seven years older than 2023. A larger proportion of homebuyers continued to get priced out. 

Many homebuyers sat out the 12 months on the sidelines, ready for affordability to enhance. Others obtained drained of ready and determined to take the leap, even with the market headwinds. The presidential election additionally injected extra volatility and unpredictability.

Nonetheless, there have been some key enhancements, together with extra housing stock, declining inflation, and improved renter affordability.

Beneath are tendencies, knowledge factors, and visuals that outlined the 2024 housing market. 

All knowledge was aggregated from January by November 2024 except in any other case said. Knowledge got here from Redfin, Hire., the U.S. Census Bureau, FRED, NAR, and/or public information. For questions on metrics, learn our metrics definitions web page.

 

1. House costs reached consecutive all-time highs

The U.S. median sale worth reached an all-time excessive in July when it hit $442,000, one month after June recorded a excessive of $438,000. Each eclipsed 2022’s document of $432,000. Home costs hit document highs for 9 straight weeks. 

When averaging for your complete 12 months, 2024’s median sale worth of $428,200 far surpassed any earlier 12 months in historical past, beating final 12 months’s by $20,000.

“Provide and demand performed starring roles once more this 12 months,” stated Daryl Fairweather, Redfin Chief Economist. “The mix of low provide and lackluster demand gave consumers the truth of a sizzling market, regardless that few houses modified arms. This uncommon pattern helped push costs steadily increased all year long, which was dangerous information for everybody besides homesellers trying to downsize or hire.”

Low-income residents had been hit particularly arduous. Practically 1 / 4 who made lower than $50,000 needed to skip meals to afford funds.

2. San Jose was the most costly metro space for homebuyers in 2024

Beating out San Francisco, San Jose grew to become the most costly metropolitan space for homebuyers within the nation in 2024. The common month-to-month median sale worth in San Jose was $1,566,100, up 8.5% ($133,120) from final 12 months. In any other case, the highest ten most costly markets had been unchanged from 2023. 

Home costs usually rose throughout the board, with solely Austin and San Antonio posting year-over-year decreases. Housing affordability grew to become an even larger disaster this 12 months, especially amongst lower-income teams, and was a main subject for voters within the presidential election.

• The highest six most costly metros had been all in California.
• Anaheim noticed the most important year-over-year worth enhance within the nation, rising 12.5%.

7. Rents held regular

The median U.S. asking hire reached a excessive of $1,649 this 12 months, just like final 12 months and a continued reprieve from the pandemic-era rollercoaster. Rents stayed largely flat all 12 months and dipped main into 2025. The median asking hire throughout all months by November averaged $1,629 – simply $8 greater than final 12 months. 

However when paired with slowly rising wages, leases truly grew to become barely extra inexpensive. Rents for faculty graduates and academics noticed notable enhancements. 

The calmer market was pushed by a surge of recent residences accomplished this 12 months after the development increase in 2021-2022. Now, provide is outpacing demand, and new items are renting extra slowly. Condominium development has since slowed.

Rents fell quickest within the Solar Belt and a few coastal metros, which constructed probably the most residences throughout the pandemic. Florida and Texas noticed giant drops this 12 months. The alternative was true in Rust Belt and East Coast metros, which didn’t construct as a lot and had been then confronted with a provide scarcity.

Importantly, although, rents have remained traditionally unaffordable because the pandemic, skyrocketing by 19% from 2019. A document half of all renters spent greater than a 3rd of their revenue on hire this 12 months, and 22% spent their whole paycheck. Incomes have lagged behind rents for years, impacting low-income renters the hardest. This lack of affordability, and the probability of going through increased rents in a brand new condo, has led many renters to remain put. 

8. New development slowed down

The U.S. noticed a mean of 1.35 million new houses began month-to-month in 2024, down from 1.42 million in 2023 and properly under 2022’s 1.55 million. New single-family dwelling development (excluding leases) fared similarly to final 12 months, peaking at 1.13 million in February.

We count on new development to rise subsequent 12 months, although. “This could have a constructive impact on provide within the subsequent few years,” famous Chen Zhao, Redfin Senior Economics Supervisor. “New development has lagged because the Nice Recession however has been slowly recovering, peaking simply after the pandemic. Development dipped this 12 months, however builder confidence has improved heading into 2025.”

Nonetheless, even with post-pandemic enhancements, the nation continues to be experiencing a historic scarcity of inexpensive housing. New development trails well behind demand, and the U.S. has a housing scarcity of between 2-6 million units.

Homebuilders have backed off because the pandemic-driven constructing increase, with excessive mortgage and rates of interest hampering purchaser demand and pushing up improvement prices. Many builders are actually targeted on promoting the houses they’ve. This helps to elucidate why simply 28% of homes on the market in September had been newly constructed this 12 months – the bottom share in 3 years.

• California, Oregon, and Utah are amongst states that fall the farthest short of projected housing wants.
• Housing completions fared barely higher than begins, with an annualized fee of 1,601,000 in November – a 0.2% year-over-year lower.
• Permits to construct single-family houses increased this 12 months, however are nonetheless properly under post-pandemic highs. 

Knowledge was seasonally adjusted by October 2024. 

9. Housing stock posted main positive factors

On common, 1.19 million houses had been listed on the market or pending each month by November in 2024, up an enormous 15.8% from final 12 months. Month-to-month stock peaked at 1.21 million houses in October. 

Stock rose for a couple of causes: extra sellers determined to check the market; houses sat available on the market for longer; and new housing completions continued to steadily rise.

Energetic listings, a measure of all houses available on the market, have steadily elevated since mid-2023, hitting a excessive of 1.73 million in November. Energetic listings and pending gross sales make up the whole housing stock.

Regardless that stock has begun recovering from chronically low provide and the pandemic homebuying craze, it nonetheless sits under the historical normal. There aren’t enough inexpensive houses available on the market.

Stock is seasonally adjusted and calculated in rolling 90-day intervals, e.g., January 2024 knowledge is the three-month interval from November 1, 2023, by January 31, 2024. Redfin stock information date again to 2012. 

10. New listings continued climbing

Consistent with stock, new listings posted main positive factors this 12 months. A mean of 544,000 houses had been newly listed on the market each month in 2024, up 9% from 2023’s document low. New listings have slowly improved over the previous two years.

The rise in listings took some time to translate to gross sales, although, as excessive housing prices priced many consumers out of the market. It wasn’t till later within the 12 months that market exercise actually picked up following Fed fee cuts and rises in affordability. 

New listings are seasonally adjusted and calculated in rolling 90-day intervals, e.g., January 2024 knowledge is the three-month interval from November 1, 2023, by January 31, 2024. Redfin listings information date again to 2012.

11. Months of provide continued its regular restoration

Whereas stock measures the variety of houses presently obtainable on the market, months of provide measures the period of time it might take these houses to promote. 4 to 5 months of housing provide is taken into account a balanced market, with extra indicating a purchaser’s market and fewer indicating a vendor’s market. 

The common inventory of housing provide throughout each month in 2023 was 2.8 months, up from 2.5 months in 2023. The market continued to lean in direction of sellers, however swung nearer to consumers in sure markets, particularly costly metros with restricted demand. Extra inexpensive metros usually noticed the alternative pattern. 

Regardless that provide rose additional in 2024, many consumers needed to struggle for each dwelling; by the primary eight months of the 12 months, simply 2.5% of the nation’s houses modified arms – the bottom share since a minimum of the Nineteen Nineties. The pandemic homebuying increase depleted provide, additional hampered by a spike in investor purchases, which has solely began to get better. 

“Provide has slowly pulled itself out of its pandemic-infused slide and continued to achieve floor this 12 months,” added Fairweather. “Nonetheless, it’s nonetheless removed from a balanced market. Patrons and sellers ought to discuss with an agent to find out how greatest to navigate their native market.”

• Provide peaked at 3.3 months in January and fared higher than final 12 months throughout the homebuying season.

Provide is seasonally adjusted calculated in rolling 90-day intervals, e.g., January 2024 knowledge is the three-month interval from November 1, 2023, by January 31, 2024. Redfin provide information date again to 2012.

12. The standard dwelling took greater than a month to promote

Houses spent a mean of 39 days available on the market in 2024 – a day longer than 2023. House gross sales continued their main slowdown from the record-breaking tempo seen in 2021-2022, largely as a result of affordability was so strained. 

This slowdown was particularly seen in September, when half of all houses listings had sat available on the market for greater than 60 days. The pattern continued into December. That was up from 43.2% in 2023. Beforehand in Could, greater than three-fifths had been available on the market for 30 days, up from 60% in 2023. 

Nonetheless, time-on-market various broadly by metro; houses in inexpensive metros usually offered rather more rapidly than houses in costly metros. For instance, in Could, the standard dwelling in Buffalo offered in simply 8 days, in comparison with 45 days in Austin. Some pricier West Coast markets, like San Jose, noticed jumps in gross sales to shut out the 12 months, too.

As homebuying affordability worsened, individuals simply needed a house they might afford. 

• Many traditionally in style and inexpensive Solar Belt cities, like Jacksonville, noticed demand skyrocket during the pandemic. Now, they’re cooling off and houses are taking longer to promote.
• Could and June had been the busiest months of the 12 months, with houses spending 32 days available on the market. 
• Regardless that they’re slowing down, houses nonetheless promote traditionally rapidly on common.

13. Practically 31% of houses had been bought with money in 2024

30.8% of houses had been bought totally with money in 2024 – down from 32% final 12 months however nonetheless traditionally elevated. 

All-cash gross sales usually comply with the identical pattern because the rise and fall of mortgage charges. When charges transfer down, the proportion of all-cash gross sales strikes down; when charges go up, all cash-sales go up. So, as mortgage charges skyrocketed in 2022, all-cash purchases followed suit. They’ve remained elevated since, however are falling. 

Luxurious consumers and traders had been more likely to pay in money. 

“By paying all money, prosperous consumers can bypass rates of interest altogether and safe a greater deal,” continued Zhao. “Whereas these are nice advantages, they’ll contribute to inequality between individuals who personal houses and individuals who don’t, particularly since traders are inclined to gravitate towards lower-priced houses.”

• All-cash gross sales slowly fell all year long from a February peak, as charges dipped and homebuying exercise returned. 
• Standard, cheap metros noticed the very best share of money purchases.
• Most of the most costly metros noticed the bottom share of all-cash purchases, together with San Diego (22.1%), Virginia Seaside (21.9%), and Seattle (20.7%).