Buyer demand is also high—despite the coronavirus, social unrest, and an economic downturn.

Not enough new houses are coming onto the real estate market to match buyer demand, causing home prices to increase across the country, according to Realtor.com.

The July housing report shows there were one-third fewer homes for sale last month than the same time last year. That is causing homes to sell faster—in two months, on average—and prices to increase 8.5 percent year-over-year, with the July median listing price at $349,000.

“The coronavirus has impacted every corner of the U.S., but it hasn’t hit every area equally or at the same time,” Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale said in a statement. “The U.S. housing market performance is closely mirroring COVID’s path, which is providing clues into what we can expect for various housing markets in the months to come.”

Home prices dipped temporarily in April but have risen every month since, causing the largest annual increase median listing prices since November 2018. The number of new homes coming onto the market is also improving since April, when year-over-year new listings decreased 44.1 percent, a stark contrast from the 13.4 percent drop in the latest findings.

Courtesy Realtor.com

Local real estate report

Almost every major U.S. market is benefiting, with 48 of the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas reporting price increases and even shorter sales turnaround times for homes, 49 days on average, or 11 days less than the national average. Only the Miami and Orlando markets reported price declines, likely because of local COVID-19 case spikes in June and July.

Realtor.com highlights the markets where homes sold faster this year than the same time last year. Northeast metros performed particularly well at the same time COVID-19 cases have drastically decreased compared to earlier this year.

“After being particularly hard hit in March and April, new coronavirus cases remain stable in the Northeast and we're seeing buyers return to the market in force,” Hale said in a statement. “If this same trend follows in the South and Midwest — where outbreaks continue to rise, we could see a flurry of activity well into the fall, especially as schools delay their openings.“

Here is a breakdown of metros where the market improved the most in June 2020 compared with last year based on median days on market:

• Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington: -13 days (46 days total)
• Boston-Cambridge-Newton: -12 days (37 days total)
• Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford.: -12 days (43 days total)
• Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News: -12 days (44 days total)
• Washington D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria: -11 days (32 days total)

These markets saw the largest drop in active home listings year-over-year:

• Riverside-San Bernadino-Ontario: -50.4%
• Baltimore-Columbia-Towson: -48.7%
• Providence-Warwick: -47.4%
• Louisville/Jefferson County: -47.1%
• Cleveland-Elyria: -47%

And these are the metros where median listing prices increased the most year-over-year:

• Pittsburgh: +25% ($249,950 median price)
• Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim: +24.3% ($994,154 median price)
• Cincinnati: +18.5% ($339,950 median price)
• Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington: +18.5% ($340,000 median price)
• San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward: +15.3% ($1,054,210 median price)

If you can’t find your community, the full report can be found at Realtor.com.

Do you think the real estate market will stay this strong? Tell us in the comments!