Wall Street History

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Wall Street History

10/25/2021

Housing Update

Time for my quarterly update of the housing situation in the United States, using the existing home price barometer as published each month by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). 

As you are aware, home prices typically rise in the spring as activity picks up after the doldrums of the fall and winter, but normally then fall off some in the summer* so I thought we’d look at the trends for the past two quarters…using the national median home price.  September’s figure is about 13% over year ago levels, marking 115 straight months of year-over-year gains. 

*Save for the coronavirus summer of 2020.

Total September existing home sales fell 2.3% from a year ago to a seasonally adjusted 6.29 million.

2021

April…$340,600
May….$350,400
June….$362,800
July…..$359,500
Aug….$357,700
Sept….$352,800 [preliminary]

2020

April…$286,700
May….$283,600
June….$294,500
July…..$305,500
Aug….$310,400
Sept….$311,500

2019

April...$266,900
May....$278,200
June....$285,300
July.....$280,400
Aug.....$278,900
Sept....$271,500

2018

April...$257,900
May....$265,100
June....$273,800
July.....$269,300
Aug.....$265,600
Sept....$256,900

2017

April...$245,000
May....$252,500
June....$263,300
July.....$258,100
Aug.....$253,100
Sept....$247,600

2016

April...$230,900
May....$238,900
June....$247,900
July.....$243,300
Aug.....$239,900
Sept....$235,200

2015

April...$218,700
May....$228,900
June....$236,300
July.....$231,800
Aug....$228,700
Sept....$221,700  

2014 

April...$201,500
May....$212,000
June....$222,000
July.....$221,600
Aug....$218,400
Sept....$209,100 

2013

April...$191,800
May....$203,100
June....$214,000
July.....$212,400
Aug....$209,700
Sept....$198,500

2012

April…$173,700
May….$180,300
June….$188,800
July…..$187,800
Aug….$184,900
Sept....$178,300

2011

April…$161,100
May….$169,300
June….$184,300
July…..$171,200
Aug….$171,200 
Sept….$165,300

2010

April…$172,300
May….$174,600
June….$182,900
July…..$182,100
Aug….$177,300
Sept….$171,400

2009

April…$166,500
May….$174,800
June….$181,800
July…..$181,300
Aug….$177,200
Sept….$175,900

Using the NAR’s data, the median average for a full year was as follows.

2004…$185,200
2005…$219,600
2006…$221,900*
2007…$219,000
2008…$198,100
2009…$172,500
2010…$172,900
2011…$166,100
2012....$176,800
2013....$197,100
2014....$208,300
2015....$222,400
2016....$233,800
2017....$247,200
2018....$259,300
2019…$271,900
2020…$296,700

*Existing home prices first peaked in July 2006 at $230,200… according to the NAR. You can play around with the numbers but generally you’re talking a ‘formal’ decline of 30%, peak to trough, nationally, after the summer of ‘06, before the big rebound.  Today, we are up to $362,800 (June).

Source: realtor.org

Wall Street History will return in a few weeks.

Brian Trumbore 

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