The National Association of Realtors® Reports Home Prices Increased in Every Metro Area Tracked in 2020

The National Association of Realtors’® (NAR) latest report reveals that 88% of the metro areas it follows (161 areas) posted double-digit price gains in the Q4, up from 115 metro areas in Q3. For all of 2020 home prices increased in every metro area the NAR tracks. In remarks prepared for the reports release, Lawrence Yun, NAR’s Chief Economist said, “The fourth quarter of 2020 presented circumstances ripe for home price increases. Mortgage rates reached record lows, thereby driving up the demand. At the same time, inventory levels also reached record lows, leading to grim inventory conditions of insufficient supply in the fourth quarter.” Yun warned that the large shifts in home prices could soon become detrimental to homebuyers. “The average working family is struggling to contend with home prices that are rising much faster than income,” he said. “This sidelines a consumer from becoming an actual buyer, causing them to miss out on accumulating wealth from homeownership.”