The calendar may have turned to 2018, but with one month of 2017 data remaining, here’s a look at some of the top housing highlights from last year:
Strongest existing-home sales pace
November: 5.81 million
Slowest existing-home sales pace
August: 5:35 million
Most likely to be happy
Home sellers: sales prices consistently rose around 5 percent (year-over-year) each month
Most likely to be frustrated
Prospective first-time buyers: 32 percent sales share (unchanged from 2016 and down from historical average of around 40 percent)
Fastest month to sell a home
May: 27 days
Most expensive housing market *
San Jose-Sunnyvale- Santa Clara, California: $1,165,000
Least expensive housing market *
Decatur, Illinois, $86,300
Quickest home-price appreciation *
San Jose-Sunnyvale- Santa Clara, California: 16.5 percent
Slowest home-price appreciation *
Fon du Lac, Wisconsin: 0.3 percent
Mark Brady is the president of the Portage County Association of Realtors