2021 Home Prices Pick Up Right Where 2020 Left Off, Radian Home Price Index Reports

After an historic 2020, the first month of 2021 weakened—albeit just slightly. According to Radian Home Price Index (HPI) data released today by Red Bell Real Estate, LLC, a Radian Group Inc. company (NYSE: RDN), home prices nationally rose from the end of December 2020 to the end of January 2021 at an annualized rate of 7.5 percent. We believe Radian HPI is the most comprehensive and timely measure of U.S. housing market prices and conditions available in the market today.

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(Graphic: Business Wire)

For the past twelve months, the Radian HPI rose 8.0 percent (January 2020 to January 2021), unchanged from the prior month’s annualized rate. Over the last six months of the year, home prices nationally appreciated at an annualized rate of 9.4 percent. This represents the fastest rate of 6-month appreciation in more than a year. 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.

“Home prices picked up in January, about where they left off in December. Home prices across the U.S. were solidly in positive territory once again,” noted Steve Gaenzler, SVP of Data and Analytics. “With elections, inaugurations and the holidays behind us, and vaccinations and modest levels of potential normalcy visible on the horizon, it shouldn’t surprise many that homes prices continue to be a shining star,” added Gaenzler.

NATIONAL DATA AND TRENDS

• Median home price in the U.S. rose to $270,334
• Distressed sales and listings at all time low

The national median estimated price for single-family and condominium homes rose to $270,334. From December 2020 to January 2021 the one-month appreciation, an annualized 7.5 percent rate, was the slowest recorded since August 2020. Historically, home prices have come under pressure during periods of economic stress as foreclosure sales and other distressed transactions add discounted properties into the inventory. During the Great Recession, monthly volume of sold properties that were considered distressed peaked at nearly 82,500 units (March 2011) and represented more than 43 percent of all sales that month. In contrast, January 2021 recorded the lowest ever number of distressed sales transactions, at 11,212 units. The tally represented just 4.9 percent of total sales for the month. This lack of distressed supply is a marked difference from prior periods of economic stress.