Housing Supply Overview
March sales activity picked up where February left off, with an already redhot market showing no signs of slowing. Rising home prices and mortgage rates are affecting affordability, but have yet to impact demand, as sales continue to increase. Extremely constrained supply in many market segments will continue to fuel multiple offers and rising home prices. For the 12-month period spanning April 2020 through March 2021, Pending Sales in the Western Upstate region were up 7.8 percent overall.
The price range with the largest gain in sales was the $300,001 and Above range, where they increased 50.7 percent.
The overall Median Sales Price was up 17.8 percent to $217,900. The property type with the largest price gain was the Single-Family Homes segment, where prices increased 18.2 percent to $224,001. The price range that tended to sell the quickest was the $150,001 to $200,000 range at 63 days; the price range that tended to sell the slowest was the $300,001 and Above range at 94 days.
Market-wide, inventory levels were down 35.3 percent. The property type that lost the least inventory was the Condos segment, where it decreased 2.8 percent. That amounts to 1.8 months supply for Single-Family homes and 4.1 months supply for Condos.
Monthly Indicators
Normal spring increases in sales activity, coupled with relaxing COVID-19 policies, created a very busy March real estate market as buyer demand continued largely unabated in the face of rising home prices and mortgage rates. Existing home seller and new construction activity continue to remain below levels necessary to bring the market back into balance, pointing to a busy and competitive buyer market in the coming months.
New Listings were up 0.6 percent to 660. Pending Sales decreased 15.8 percent to 420. Inventory shrank 35.3 percent to 1,073 units.
Prices moved higher as Median Sales Price was up 14.3 percent to $217,000. Days on Market decreased 26.1 percent to 68 days. Months Supply of Inventory was down 41.2 percent to 2.0 months, indicating that demand increased relative to supply.
While many homebuilders are working to increase their activity, the cost of lumber and other materials and a backlogged supply chain continue to limit new home construction and have increased costs substantially. New methods of construction, including 3d printed homes, could speed construction and reduce costs in the future, but realistically are several years away from making a measurable impact in the market.
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