The Houzz 2021 Kitchen Trends Study highlights post-pandemic must-haves.

“Historically low-interest rates, a shortage of new housing inventory and limited new construction have contributed to rising home prices nationwide.” — Don Ganguly, senior vice president of Mynd Investor Services

The decline of home mortgage interest rates is continuing to fuel homebuying demand in December, pushing the median home-sale price up 13% nationwide to $334,300, according to a new report from online broker Redfin.

Think December is a slowdown month for home sales? Well, don’t let Georgians know because residential sales climbed 5.8% from the previous month statewide

Here’s a little tidbit that might help clients decide whether or not it’s time to buy their first home — it could save them some money.

December marked the end of seven straight months of job growth.

The number of homes for sale nationwide dropped below 700,000 in December, hitting an all-time low, while home prices were up double-digits over the year prior, according to realtor.com’s Monthly Housing Trends Report.

Want to know what’s happening in the Atlanta market? Click here for the full housing scorecard to see your local numbers!

“Resale list prices are out of control, and we are seeing 21% price increases in resale homes fueled by multiple offers and lack of supply.” — John Hunt, MarketNsight and ViaSearch President

As the housing market heated up this summer, selling to an iBuyer became a less attractive option for many profit-minded homeowners.

“Comparing the RHPI levels in October relative to the resurgence of home buyer interest in June, affordability declined in 24 of the top 50 markets we track.”

Sales in November are still 25.8% higher year over year.

Inventory also reached its lowest point in the report’s history, down 31.8% from the same time last year and down 13.3% from October.

Strong underlying fundamentals shaped the housing market’s remarkable 2020 comeback story and, with a vaccine rollout underway, the stage is set for another strong year in 2021, says First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming.

The report noted that 29.4% of Redfin.com users nationwide looked at relocating to another metro area in October and November — that’s up from 25.4% last year.

“Nothing sells like a shortage. We have underbuilt new housing relative to demand for a decade. Building will have to exceed household formation for a number of years to reduce the housing stock ‘debt’ we have accumulated.” — First American Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi