Comparing 2019 and 2018 Existing Home Sales, Part 1

The mortgage world is one where trends are generally tracked on a year-by-year basis, and the recent outbreak of COVID-19 around the world has made this an even starker reality. Because of the way the outbreak has changed the mortgage market, along with numerous other economical areas, some in the field are still using 2019 figures as broad estimates, particularly for a period when things return to a bit more normalcy.

The Deb Klein Team at Reliability in Lending is here to help all our clients through this unique period in history, including those who were in the midst of home searches or mortgage applications when the situation arose. In this two-part blog series, we’ll go over a variety of broad home sale and other mortgage-related numbers from the 2019 year, plus how those compared to 2018 and what they forecast about future trends.

Broad Market Figures

Broadly speaking, 2019 was a very solid year for the mortgage world as a whole. When you zoom out and look at all existing home types and their sales, numbers rose 3.6% in December compared to November before it, a robust increase.

In addition, these numbers were both far higher than the previous year. Both November and December of 2019 posted double-digit increases from corresponding months in 2018. Overall, the National Association of Realtors reported home sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.54 million units in December, up from 5.35 million in November and 5.00 million in December of 2018.

Specific Home Types

Breaking this down a bit more specifically by home types, the end of 2019 went as follows:

• Single-family homes: 2.7% gain from November to December 2019, 10.6% increase from the previous year.
• Condos and co-op homes: 10.7% gain from November to December 2019, 12.7% increase from the previous year.

Median Home Prices

For December of 2019, the median existing-home price for all types was $274,500, a 7.8% increase from the year prior. For those unaware, this is a continuation of one of the longest and most remarkable trends in the mortgage world: We have now seen an amazing 94 consecutive months showing year-over-year gains in this area. Single-family homes saw an 8% rise here while condos saw a 6% rise.

Existing Home Sales

One area that held relatively flat form the previous year at the end of 2019 was existing home sales, which ended the calendar year at 5.34 million units, the same as 2018. Declines in the West and Midwest were offset by gains in the South (we’ll dig more into specific geographical areas in part two).

For more on end-of-2019 home trends, or to learn about any of our mortgage loans or refinancing services, speak to the staff at Reliability in Lending today.

*PRMI NMLS 3094. PRMI is an Equal Housing Lender. Some products and services may not be available in all states. Credit and collateral are subject to approval. Terms and conditions apply. Programs, rates, terms, and conditions are subject to change and are subject to borrower(s) qualification. This is not a commitment to lend. Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views of my employer.