Our January report focused mostly on 2020’s annual statistics. This report will put most of its attention on quarterly and monthly indicators, which better illustrate changes occurring as 2020 progressed and 2021 began.
In January, new listing activity started to pick up quickly after the typical annual low hit in December. And the numbers of listings going into contract and of listings closing sale in the month were both up approximately 37% from January 2020.
As is the norm, new listing activity began to pick up in January, after hitting the usual, annual low point in December. The number of new listings coming on market in January was up about 34% over January 2020.
The number of active listings on the market typically climbs rapidly through spring. In January, inventory was running about 48% higher than in January 2020.
Month by month, year-over-year comparison of home sales volumes – illustrating the initial pandemic crash in activity followed by the market rebound that saw monthly sales volumes climb well above the levels of the previous year.
In 2020, year-over-year sales of homes $3 million and above saw a significant increase, while the sales volume of homes below that threshold actually declined a little. However, neither statistic does justice to the rapid acceleration in market activity occurring in the second half of the year.
Big jumps in high-price home sales were common around most of the Bay Area last year after the pandemic hit.
The number of price reductions has dropped rapidly from the peaks it hit in late summer, early autumn.