In November, the typical home for sale was on the market just 18 days, according to new numbers from the National Association of Realtors. That's down from 21 days in November 2020 but unchanged from the month before. Overall, 83 percent of homes sold in less than a month. The numbers are evidence that the lack of available inventory means home buyers continue to face a challenging, fast-paced market. In fact, the NAR found there was only a 2.1-month supply of existing homes available for sale in November. A 6-month supply is generally considered healthy. Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, says buyers remain motivated, though, due to the expectation that mortgage rates will rise in 2022. “Locking in a constant and firm mortgage payment motivated many consumers who grew weary of escalating rents over the last year,” Yun said. “Mortgage rates are projected to jump in 2022, however, I don't expect the imminent increase to be overly dramatic.” Motivated buyers pushed sales of previously owned homes up 1.9 percent month over month. It was the third consecutive month sales increased.
