U.S. Home Prices Kick Off the 4th Quarter with Slightly Slower Gains, Radian Home Price Index Reports

After a very strong third quarter, home prices across the United States continued to climb in October albeit at a slower rate than in September, rising 7.5 percent in the twelve months since November 2019, according to Radian Home Price Index (HPI) data released today by Red Bell Real Estate, LLC, a Radian Group Inc. company (NYSE: RDN). The Radian HPI is the most comprehensive and timely measure of U.S. housing market prices and conditions.

Since the start of the year, the estimated median home price has increased by an absolute, not annualized, rate of 6.7 percent, which was higher than the increase recorded in the same period of 2019. The monthly annualized increase recorded in October, while slower than September, was still the second-best appreciation month in 2020. The Radian HPI is calculated based on the estimated values of more than 70 million unique addresses each month, covering all single-family property types and geographies.

“The end of the traditional summer season has collided headfirst into the second wave of COVID-19 across the U.S. As such, we would expect that the coming months, similar to the initial wave, will show slowing appreciation rates for homes,” noted Steve Gaenzler, SVP of Data and Analytics. Gaenzler added that “lessening demand for housing due to typical seasonal patterns may reduce pressures seen through the first ten months of 2020, however, without active supply increases home prices should continue to grow.”

NATIONAL DATA AND TRENDS

• Median estimated home price in the U.S. rose to $264,585
• October records highest sales for any October, on continued demand

Nationally, the median estimated price for single-family and condominium homes rose to $264,585. Since the start of 2020, the median estimated home price in the U.S. has increased more than $16,667. By region, median home estimates are more than $30,000 higher in the West region than they were at the end of 2019; the highest dollar gain so far this year. Prices in the MidAtlantic region are higher by a lesser, $12,200 over the same period, representing the least absolute gain by a region.

Nationally, demand remained vigorous for home purchases. Sales of residential homes were at an all-time high for any October on record. In total, the number of closed home sales was 49 percent higher than the average October going back to 2007, and nearly 20 percent higher than October of 2019, the prior record October for sales. Even with the headwinds of 2020 on real estate, the total count of sale transactions will surpass the 2019 prior full year record if the final two months average only 235,000 sales per month, an amount 25 percent lower than the average month so far this year.