Home price appreciation continues to accelerate. Today, prices are driven by the simple concept of supply and demand. Pricing of any item is determined by how many items are available compared to how many people want to buy that item. As a result, the strong year-over-year home price appreciation is simple to explain. The demand for housing is up while the supply of homes for sale hovers at historic lows. Let’s use three maps to show how this theory continues to affect the residential real estate market. Map #1 – State-by-state price appreciation reported by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) for the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2020:


Is there relief around the corner?
The report by realtor.com also shows the monthly change in inventory for each state. Map #3 – State-by-state changes in inventory levels month-over-month reported by realtor.com:
Bottom Line
Some are concerned by the rapid price appreciation we’ve experienced over the last year. The maps above show that the increases were warranted based on great demand and limited supply. Going forward, if the number of homes for sale better aligns with demand, price appreciation will moderate to more historical levels.In Today’s Market, Listing Prices Are Like an Auction’s Reserve Price