U.S. Winter Season Maintains Fall Season Strength, Radian Home Price Index Reveals - Seite 2

Housing markets continue to be buoyed by on-going imbalances between housing supply and demand. February 2021 continued a streak of records broken. In fact, February 2021 set both the record for lowest number of active listing in any February, as well as the highest number of sales in a February. Moreover, the absorption of inventory was brisk. The number of sales equated to 27 percent of the number of active listings, suggesting a very strong demand for inventory.

REGIONAL DATA AND TRENDS

• February gains were solid across nearly all regions
• Midwest softened while Southwest and West showed strongest gains

Similar to the national reporting, all U.S. regions reported positive price appreciation in residential markets in February 2021. The MidAtlantic and Northeast were particularly resilient in what are normally down months for housing activity. While their appreciation rates were comparable to those recorded over the last four months, it is more common to see some slowing of appreciation during winter months in these markets. The Midwest did record the weakest Regional appreciation rate and was weaker than prior months. The Southwest and West regions captured the top performing Regions in February.

At the state level, home price appreciation was positive in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, however 20 of the 51 states reported slower monthly appreciation in February when compared to the prior month. Momentum of home price appreciation differs by state.

METROPOLITAN AREA DATA AND TRENDS

• Metropolitan areas outpaced prior year
• 2021 starting off strong for large metro areas

All the 20-largest metro areas of the U.S. reported positive price appreciation in February as compared to January 2021. Three metros -- New York, Philadelphia, and Boston -- recorded slower annualized price appreciation month-over-month. What is striking, however, is that 17 of the 20 largest metros report higher rates of appreciation than in the month prior to the onset of the COVID pandemic in the U.S in 2020. These metros grew faster in February 2021 than they did in February of 2020. To put that in perspective, the start of 2020 was the strongest on record post the Great Recession as housing markets were very strong prior to the pandemic and reflects the broad strength of housing market prices.