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ATTOM, a curator of the nation's property database, released its Year-End 2021 U.S. Home Sales Report. A surge of buyers continued moving away from expensive, gateway cities to relatively affordable, secondary markets. They were driven heavily by a combination of historically low interest rates and a desire by many households to live in a more spacious single-family home that can accommodate work from home needs. Huge demand met with limited supply and spiked up prices.
U.S. median home price increased 16.9% in 2021, hitting an all-time annual high of $301,000
The annual home-price appreciation in 2021 outpaced the combined increases of 9.5% in 2020 plus 5.9% in 2019. The latest price spike came as more than 5.7 million single-family houses and condominiums sold in 2021, the highest number since at least 2005.
Aside from Boston and Phoenix, the largest median-price increases in metro areas with a population of at least 1 million in 2021 came in Austin, TX (up 25.4%); Nashville, TN (up 22.2%) and Las Vegas, NV (up 21.5%).
Institutional investing at eight-year high
Institutional investors nationwide accounted for 6.9%, or one of every 14 single-family home and condo sales in 2021 in the U.S., the highest level since 2013. The latest figure was up from 2.7 percent in 2020 and 3.6 percent in 2019.
"What a year 2021 was for home sellers and the housing market all around the U.S. Prices went through the roof, kicking profits and profit margins up at a pace not seen for at least a decade. All that happened as the virus pandemic raged on, which actually helped drive the increases instead of stifle them," said Todd Teta, chief product officer at ATTOM. "Households that escaped job losses from the pandemic dove into the market, in large part as a response to the crisis. And the rising demand led the market boom onward. No doubt, there are warning signs that the surge could slow down this year. But 2021 will go down as one of the greatest years for sellers and one of the toughest for buyers."
Source: ATTOM
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