Home prices jump more than 15.4 percent year-over-year as stock remains ‘woefully’ low

Home prices in the U.S. skyrocketed a whopping 15.4 percent over the past year, driven by sharply contracted stock and high demand as buyers scrambled to snatch up diminishing numbers of houses on the market.

The median home price in the U.S. last month rose to $350,300 from $303,600, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. The majority of homes were on the market for less than a month, the NAR said; properties were “typically” for sale less than 20 days. 

The housing stock throughout the country “remains woefully depleted, and in fact is currently at an all-time low," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in the press release.

Yun noted that lower-income buyers are being edged out of the market due to the growing share of homes at the top of the price list. 

“[M]ore supply is needed at the lower-end of the market in order to achieve more equitable distribution of housing wealth,” he said.