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Homes Sold Faster Than Ever in 2017

By Aaron Terrazas on 17 Apr 2018

• The typical U.S. home sold in 2017 was on the market for 81 days.
• The single fastest-selling month in 2017 was June, when the typical U.S. home sold in 73 days.
• Homes sold faster in 2017 than in 2016 in nearly all of the biggest 35 housing markets last year.

As demand has outpaced supply in the housing market over the past three years, buying a home has become an exercise in speed and agility.

In 2017, homes sold at their fastest pace on record.

The median valued home flew off the market in just 81 days, which was nine days faster than the year before. The fastest-selling month on record was June 2017, when the median valued home took 73 days to sell, including closing.

Closing can take four to six weeks, which means the typical home was on the market for around 30 days before going under contract.

Tight inventory accounts for much of the crunch. The number of homes for sale has fallen on a year-over-year basis for 37 consecutive months, leaving fewer options for buyers – which contributes to higher prices. In 2017, nearly a quarter of all homes sold above their list prices.

Homes sold faster in 2017 than they did the year before in 33 of the 35 biggest U.S. housing markets. In Houston, homes sold slightly faster in 2016 (80 days) than in 2017 (81 days) – a change that might be at least partly attributable to hurricane and flooding-related delays. Homes in Miami sold in 110 days in both years; south Florida also was affected by severe weather, which may have contributed to homes being on the market for more days than they otherwise would have been.

The fastest-selling market in 2017 was San Jose, Calif., where the typical home sold in 41 days. San Jose also experienced the biggest drop in inventory over the past year, with 26.8 percent fewer homes to choose from than a year earlier. Homes in San Jose sold fastest in October 2017, with a span of just 39 days from listing to closing.

Among major metro areas, New York took the most days to sell: 134. That shortened to 122 during July, its fastest month.