How Are Home Prices Faring During the Pandemic?

With high unemployment and an unstable economy, many bargain hunters waited eagerly for deep discounts on houses. To their disappointment, the median home list prices jumped 3.1 percent year over year last week, according to recent Realtor.com data. Low housing inventory kept prices from plummeting even as buyers retreated from the market. Though the decline in annual listings is slowing down, the total number of listings on the market is still 20 percent below last year. Now that demand is increasing, it appears home prices will continue to be stable.

Those hoping the coronavirus-fueled recession will bring another round of bargain-basement real estate prices are likely out of luck.

Even with the pandemic raging, a battered economy, and the highest unemployment since the Great Depression, median home list prices still jumped up 3.1% year over year last week, according to the most recent realtor.com® data of the seven days ending May 23. That's about double the 1.5% annual rise from the previous week ending May 16.

Last week, home prices increased in about three-quarters, 77, of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas.

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