January started off strong for the housing market, with healthy buyer demand and strong market fundamentals. A robust increase in housing starts in December points to an active year for new construction, but higher material costs, especially lumber, and a limited supply of buildable lots will temper the number of new units.
• Single Family Closed Sales were up 17.7 percent to 6,378.
• Townhouse-Condo Closed Sales were up 15.3 percent to 1,918.
• Adult Communities Closed Sales were up 17.3 percent to 609.
• Single Family Median Sales Price increased 22.4 percent to $404,000.
• Townhouse-Condo Median Sales Price increased 7.5 percent to $285,000.
• Adult Communities Median Sales Price increased 31.8 percent to $263,500.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s January research estimates approximately 2.7 million homeowners with mortgages are currently in forbearance plans. Some of these homes may eventually come to market, but given the strong appreciation in most market segments in recent years, these eventual home sales are likely to be mostly traditional sellers. However, a modest increase in short sales and foreclosures at some point this year would not be surprising.