2024 Housing Market Year In Review: A Tale of Supply, Demand, and Mortgage Rates

14 housing tendencies that outlined the 12 months, together with document home costs, a mortgage price rollercoaster, and a gross sales sea-saw

The 2024 housing market in some ways mirrored 2023: too few properties in the marketplace, and never sufficient consumers prepared to face excessive costs and mortgage charges. This pushed home costs larger and saved affordability traditionally low – exceptional, on condition that 2023 ended because the least inexpensive 12 months for homebuying on document. Almost 40% of renters thought they’d by no means personal a house. 

The market was so tough that the median homebuying age jumped to a document 56 years outdated – seven years older than 2023. A higher proportion of homebuyers continued to get priced out. 

Many homebuyers sat out the 12 months on the sidelines, ready for affordability to enhance. Others obtained drained of ready and determined to take the leap, even with the market headwinds. The presidential election additionally injected extra volatility and unpredictability.

Nonetheless, there have been some key enhancements, together with extra housing stock, declining inflation, and improved renter affordability.

Under are tendencies, information factors, and visuals that outlined the 2024 housing market. 

All information was aggregated from January by way of November 2024 until in any other case acknowledged. Information got here from Redfin, Hire., the U.S. Census Bureau, FRED, NAR, and/or public data. For questions on metrics, learn our metrics definitions web page.

1. Dwelling costs reached consecutive all-time highs

The U.S. median sale value reached an all-time excessive in July when it hit $442,000, one month after June recorded a excessive of $438,000. Each eclipsed 2022’s document of $432,000. Home costs hit document highs for 9 straight weeks. 

When averaging for your complete 12 months, 2024’s median sale value of $428,200 far surpassed any earlier 12 months in historical past, beating final 12 months’s by $20,000.

“Provide and demand performed starring roles once more this 12 months,” mentioned Daryl Fairweather, Redfin Chief Economist. “The mix of low provide and lackluster demand gave consumers the fact of a scorching market, despite the fact that few properties modified fingers. This uncommon development helped push costs steadily larger all year long, which was unhealthy information for everybody besides homesellers trying to downsize or hire.”

Low-income residents have been hit particularly onerous. Almost 1 / 4 who made lower than $50,000 needed to skip meals to afford funds.

2. San Jose was the costliest metro space for homebuyers in 2024

Beating out San Francisco, San Jose grew to become the costliest metropolitan space for homebuyers within the nation in 2024. The common month-to-month median sale value in San Jose was $1,566,100, up 8.5% ($133,120) from final 12 months. In any other case, the highest ten costliest markets have been unchanged from 2023. 

Home costs usually rose throughout the board, with solely Austin and San Antonio posting year-over-year decreases. Housing affordability grew to become an even bigger disaster this 12 months, particularly amongst lower-income teams, and was a main difficulty for voters within the presidential election.

The highest six costliest metros have been all in California.
Anaheim noticed the biggest year-over-year value improve within the nation, rising 12.5%.

7. Rents held regular

The median U.S. asking hire reached a excessive of $1,649 this 12 months, much like final 12 months and a continued reprieve from the pandemic-era rollercoaster. Rents stayed principally flat all 12 months and dipped main into 2025. The median asking hire throughout all months by way of November averaged $1,629 – simply $8 greater than final 12 months. 

However when paired with slowly rising wages, leases truly grew to become barely extra inexpensive. Rents for faculty graduates and academics noticed notable enhancements. 

The calmer market was pushed by a surge of latest flats accomplished this 12 months after the development growth in 2021-2022. Now, provide is outpacing demand, and new items are renting extra slowly. House development has since slowed.

Rents fell quickest within the Solar Belt and a few coastal metros, which constructed essentially the most flats throughout the pandemic. Florida and Texas noticed giant drops this 12 months. The alternative was true in Rust Belt and East Coast metros, which didn’t construct as a lot and have been then confronted with a provide scarcity.

Importantly, although, rents have remained traditionally unaffordable because the pandemic, skyrocketing by 19% from 2019. A document half of all renters spent greater than a 3rd of their revenue on hire this 12 months, and 22% spent their whole paycheck. Incomes have lagged behind rents for years, impacting low-income renters the hardest. This lack of affordability, and the chance of going through larger rents in a brand new condominium, has led many renters to remain put. 

8. New development slowed down

The U.S. noticed a median of 1.35 million new properties began month-to-month in 2024, down from 1.42 million in 2023 and effectively under 2022’s 1.55 million. New single-family dwelling development (excluding leases) fared equally to final 12 months, peaking at 1.13 million in February.

We count on new development to rise subsequent 12 months, although. “This could have a optimistic impact on provide within the subsequent few years,” famous Chen Zhao, Redfin Senior Economics Supervisor. “New development has lagged because the Nice Recession however has been slowly recovering, peaking simply after the pandemic. Building dipped this 12 months, however builder confidence has improved heading into 2025.”

Nonetheless, even with post-pandemic enhancements, the nation remains to be experiencing a historic scarcity of inexpensive housing. New development trails effectively behind demand, and the U.S. has a housing scarcity of between 2-6 million items.

Homebuilders have backed off because the pandemic-driven constructing growth, with excessive mortgage and rates of interest hampering purchaser demand and pushing up improvement prices. Many builders at the moment are centered on promoting the properties they’ve. This helps to clarify why simply 28% of homes on the market in September have been newly constructed this 12 months – the bottom share in 3 years.

California, Oregon, and Utah are amongst states that fall the farthest quick of projected housing wants.
Housing completions fared barely higher than begins, with an annualized price of 1,601,000 in November – a 0.2% year-over-year lower.
Permits to construct single-family properties elevated this 12 months, however are nonetheless effectively under post-pandemic highs. 

Information was seasonally adjusted by way of October 2024. 

9. Housing stock posted main features

On common, 1.19 million properties have been listed on the market or pending each month by way of November in 2024, up a large 15.8% from final 12 months. Month-to-month stock peaked at 1.21 million properties in October. 

Stock rose for a couple of causes: extra sellers determined to check the market; properties sat in the marketplace for longer; and new housing completions continued to steadily rise.

Lively listings, a measure of all properties in the marketplace, have steadily elevated since mid-2023, hitting a excessive of 1.73 million in November. Lively listings and pending gross sales make up the overall housing stock.

Regardless that stock has begun recovering from chronically low provide and the pandemic homebuying craze, it nonetheless sits under the historic regular. There aren’t sufficient inexpensive properties in the marketplace.

Stock is seasonally adjusted and calculated in rolling 90-day intervals, e.g., January 2024 information is the three-month interval from November 1, 2023, by way of January 31, 2024. Redfin stock data date again to 2012. 

10. New listings continued climbing

Consistent with stock, new listings posted main features this 12 months. A median of 544,000 properties have been newly listed on the market each month in 2024, up 9% from 2023’s document low. New listings have slowly improved over the previous two years.

The rise in listings took some time to translate to gross sales, although, as excessive housing prices priced many consumers out of the market. It wasn’t till later within the 12 months that market exercise actually picked up following Fed price cuts and rises in affordability. 

New listings are seasonally adjusted and calculated in rolling 90-day intervals, e.g., January 2024 information is the three-month interval from November 1, 2023, by way of January 31, 2024. Redfin listings data date again to 2012.

11. Months of provide continued its regular restoration

Whereas stock measures the variety of properties at present accessible on the market, months of provide measures the period of time it might take these properties to promote. 4 to 5 months of housing provide is taken into account a balanced market, with extra indicating a purchaser’s market and fewer indicating a vendor’s market. 

The common inventory of housing provide throughout each month in 2023 was 2.8 months, up from 2.5 months in 2023. The market continued to lean in the direction of sellers, however swung nearer to consumers in sure markets, particularly costly metros with restricted demand. Extra inexpensive metros typically noticed the alternative development. 

Regardless that provide rose additional in 2024, many consumers needed to combat for each dwelling; by way of the primary eight months of the 12 months, simply 2.5% of the nation’s properties modified fingers – the bottom share since not less than the Nineteen Nineties. The pandemic homebuying growth depleted provide, additional hampered by a spike in investor purchases, which has solely began to recuperate. 

“Provide has slowly pulled itself out of its pandemic-infused slide and continued to realize floor this 12 months,” added Fairweather. “Nonetheless, it’s nonetheless removed from a balanced market. Patrons and sellers ought to discuss with an agent to find out how greatest to navigate their native market.”

Provide peaked at 3.3 months in January and fared higher than final 12 months throughout the homebuying season.

Provide is seasonally adjusted calculated in rolling 90-day intervals, e.g., January 2024 information is the three-month interval from November 1, 2023, by way of January 31, 2024. Redfin provide data date again to 2012.

12. The standard dwelling took greater than a month to promote

Houses spent a median of 39 days in the marketplace in 2024 – a day longer than 2023. Dwelling gross sales continued their main slowdown from the record-breaking tempo seen in 2021-2022, largely as a result of affordability was so strained. 

This slowdown was particularly seen in September, when half of all properties listings had sat in the marketplace for greater than 60 days. The development continued into December. That was up from 43.2% in 2023. Beforehand in Could, greater than three-fifths had been in the marketplace for 30 days, up from 60% in 2023. 

Nonetheless, time-on-market different broadly by metro; properties in inexpensive metros typically bought far more shortly than properties in costly metros. For instance, in Could, the everyday dwelling in Buffalo bought in simply 8 days, in comparison with 45 days in Austin. Some pricier West Coast markets, like San Jose, noticed jumps in gross sales to shut out the 12 months, too.

As homebuying affordability worsened, individuals simply needed a house they might afford. 

Many traditionally widespread and inexpensive Solar Belt cities, like Jacksonville, noticed demand skyrocket throughout the pandemic. Now, they’re cooling off and houses are taking longer to promote.
Could and June have been the busiest months of the 12 months, with properties spending 32 days in the marketplace. 
Regardless that they’re slowing down, properties nonetheless promote traditionally shortly on common.

13. Almost 31% of properties have been bought with money in 2024

30.8% of properties have been bought totally with money in 2024 – down from 32% final 12 months however nonetheless traditionally elevated. 

All-cash gross sales usually observe the identical development because the rise and fall of mortgage charges. When charges transfer down, the share of all-cash gross sales strikes down; when charges go up, all cash-sales go up. So, as mortgage charges skyrocketed in 2022, all-cash purchases adopted go well with. They’ve remained elevated since, however are falling. 

Luxurious consumers and buyers have been more likely to pay in money. 

“By paying all money, prosperous consumers can bypass rates of interest altogether and safe a greater deal,” continued Zhao. “Whereas these are nice advantages, they will contribute to inequality between individuals who personal properties and individuals who don’t, particularly since buyers are likely to gravitate towards lower-priced properties.”

All-cash gross sales slowly fell all year long from a February peak, as charges dipped and homebuying exercise returned. 
In style, cheap metros noticed the very best share of money purchases.
Most of the costliest metros noticed the bottom share of all-cash purchases, together with San Diego (22.1%), Virginia Seaside (21.9%), and Seattle (20.7%).