Practically every single one of the 183 metro areas tracked by the NAR saw significant year-over-year increases in the price of homes during the first quarter, with the median sales price of a single-family home in Houston jumping to 14.9% on a year-over-year basis to $281,800.

The number of buyers who locked in mortgage rates for second homes spiked to 178% year over year in April, according to a report from Redfin.

The housing market hit records last month as home prices reached an all-time high and homes sold faster than ever. 

Listing keywords associated with families and children, like community pools, nearby parks and cul-de-sacs, led to both faster-than-expected sales and higher premiums.

“This is a sign that the competitive purchase market, driven by low housing inventory and high demand, is pushing prices higher and weighing down on activity.” — Mortgage Bankers Association Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting Joel Kan.

The Houston Association of Realtors’ FRESH report briefly covers new listings, active listings and average list price for single-family homes activity in April 2021 compared to April 2020.

Transcendent Electra, a partnership between Transcendent Investment Management and Electra America, has $496 million of properties in contract process and closing and another $1 billion in the pipeline.

The NAHB attributed the monthly increase in its construction spending index to single-family construction and single-family improvements, both of which rose by 2% on a monthly basis. Multifamily construction, meanwhile, declined 0.3% after falling 0.9% in February.

In 40% of metro areas analyzed, home prices in the first quarter hit or tied new peaks according to the report, including Houston. 

Homes stayed on the market for 15 days less than they did last year, at an average of 40 days.

Home closings saw their most considerable one-week year-over-year increase and there was also a significant rise in the number of new listings, pending listings and showings.

The year-over-year increase in the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index is the highest recorded since February 2006, according to Craig Lazzara, managing director and global head of index investment strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indexes.

The boost in inventory shows signs of seasonal norms as supply starts to catch up with demand.

Year over year, the pace of sales was up 66.8% nationwide.

As housing demands hold steady and home prices rise, the number of new listings, pending listings, closings and showings were up compared to this time last year.

As the economy slowly recovers from the early days of the pandemic, the share of loans in forbearance dropped for the seventh consecutive week, signifying a 40-basis-point decrease in the last two weeks.