While demand for homes has remained red hot, market conditions have slowed the pace of sales nationally compared with a year ago.
Below are some facts and figures that show what prospective homebuyers are up against.
— Just 870,000 homes were on the market as of the end of February, just above the record low set a month earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. That amounts to a 1.7 months’ supply.
— Despite the softer sales, the imbalance between supply and demand has pushed up prices. The median U.S. home price jumped 15% in February from a year earlier to $357,300, according to the National Association of Realtors.
— Buyers are expected to not only come up with a sizable down payment, say 5% to 10% at least, but also money to cover a “home appraisal gap.” This has become more common as bidding wars push up the sale price on a home above its appraised value.
— An average of 16% of homes sold in January and February for more than their appraised value, according to CoreLogic. The average for all of last year was 15%, up from 9.5% in 2020. The historical norm is 7%.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.