New Home SalesCENSUS
501K
U.S. Housing Market · 2015
U.S. Housing Market in 2015
Existing SalesNAR
5.25M
Median PriceNAR
$222,400
30Y MortgagePMMS
3.85%
In 2015, the U.S. housing market recorded existing-home sales averaged 5.25 million, new-construction sales of 501K, and a 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 3.85%.
Existing-home sales rose 6.3% from 2014. the median existing-home price rose 6.5% to $222,400. the 30-year fixed mortgage fell 0.32 percentage points to 3.85%.
By the numbers — 2015: new-home sales 501K, existing-home sales 5.25M, median existing price $222,400, 30-year mortgage rate 3.85%.
Macroeconomic Context
On December 16, 2015, the Federal Open Market Committee raised the federal funds rate by 25 basis points — the first increase in nearly a decade, ending the longest stretch of near-zero rates in the Fed's history. The decision had been anticipated for much of the year and, when it finally arrived, was greeted by equity markets with relief rather than alarm. Fed Chair Janet Yellen framed the move as a sign of confidence in the economy, not the beginning of an aggressive tightening campaign.
GDP grew approximately 2.9 percent in 2015 — the best performance of the post-recession expansion to that point. Unemployment fell to 5.0 percent by year-end, within the range many economists consider full employment. Consumer price inflation was barely detectable at 0.1 percent for the year, held down by the dramatic collapse in oil prices: crude fell from roughly $55 per barrel at the start of 2015 to below $40 by December. Low inflation gave the Fed the flexibility to move slowly after the December rate hike — it would not raise rates again until December 2016.
China's slowing growth and its August stock market crash — in which the Shanghai Composite fell 30 percent in three weeks — created global uncertainty in the third quarter, briefly pushing the Fed to delay the long-anticipated rate hike. Greece's third bailout crisis and its near-exit from the eurozone added to the cautious international mood.
Thirty-year mortgage rates averaged roughly 3.9 percent for the year. Housing benefited from improving employment and rising incomes, and existing-home sales posted their best year since 2006. But inventory remained tight, and median price appreciation ran well above income growth — a gap that would compound affordability constraints in the years ahead.