14 housing trends that defined the year, including record house prices, a mortgage rate rollercoaster, and a sales sea-saw
The 2024 housing market in many ways mirrored 2023: too few homes on the market, and not enough buyers willing to face high prices and mortgage rates. This pushed house prices higher and kept affordability historically low – remarkable, given that 2023 ended as the least affordable year for homebuying on record. Nearly 40% of renters thought they’d never own a home.
The market was so difficult that the median homebuying age jumped to a record 56 years old – seven years older than 2023. A greater proportion of homebuyers continued to get priced out.
Many homebuyers sat out the year on the sidelines, waiting for affordability to improve. Others got tired of waiting and decided to take the leap, even with the market headwinds. The presidential election also injected more volatility and unpredictability.
However, there were some key improvements, including more housing inventory, declining inflation, and improved renter affordability.
Below are trends, data points, and visuals that defined the 2024 housing market.
All data was aggregated from January through November 2024 unless otherwise stated. Data came from Redfin, Rent., the U.S. Census Bureau, FRED, NAR, and/or public records. For questions about metrics, read our metrics definitions page.
1. Home prices reached consecutive all-time highs
The U.S. median sale price reached an all-time high in July when it hit $442,000, one month after June recorded a high of $438,000. Both eclipsed 2022’s record of $432,000. House prices hit record highs for nine straight weeks.
When averaging for the entire year, 2024’s median sale price of $428,200 far surpassed any previous year in history, beating last year’s by $20,000.
“Supply and demand played starring roles again this year,” said Daryl Fairweather, Redfin Chief Economist. “The combination of low supply and…