2021 Marks Strongest Year for Housing in over a Decade
Even though the pace of sales was falling last month, December solidified 2021 as the best year for existing single-family home sales in over a decade. With an annualized pace of more than 444,000 units, home sales were 7.9% ahead of 2020, which also rose by 3.5% from 2019. That marks the best year for closed transactions since 2009. Median prices also set a new record, coming in just shy of $800,000 for the year. Despite ongoing challenges with the pandemic, a labor market that has yet to fully recover, and interest rates that rose gradually throughout the year, buyer demand remains strong by pre-crisis standards although limited supply is expected to weigh on sales in 2022.