Monthly Indicators
Housing affordability continues to be a major roadblock for market participants, with mortgage rates more than double compared to this time last year. Buyers are delaying home purchases in hopes rates will drop, while many sellers are holding off on listing their homes due to weakening buyer demand, unwilling to trade in their current lower rates for significantly higher borrowing costs on their next property. As a result, existing-home and pending home sales have continued to slow as we move into winter.
New Listings were down 19.5 percent to 498. Pending Sales decreased 33.6 percent to 351. Inventory grew 89.0 percent to 1,603 units.
Prices moved higher as Median Sales Price was up 8.6 percent to $273,750. Days on Market increased 8.2 percent to 53 days. Months Supply of Inventory was up 120.0 percent to 3.3 months, indicating that supply increased relative to demand.
With home sales down, nationwide housing inventory was at 3.3 months’ supply heading into November, up from 2.4 months from this time last year, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Although buyers have more options to choose from, home prices remain high, and soaring borrowing costs have caused monthly payments to increase significantly, with the average homebuyer paying 77% more on their loan per month compared to the same period a year ago, according to Realtor.com.
Housing Supply Overview
Rising interest rates, elevated home prices, and persistently high levels of inflation have caused housing affordability to plunge to its lowest level since 2012, according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Opportunity Index (HOI).
The NAHB reports only 42.2% of new and existing homes sold in the third quarter of 2022 were affordable to homebuyers earning the U.S. median income of $90,000, surpassing the previous low of 42.8% in the second quarter of 2022 and causing builder confidence to weaken. For the 12-month period spanning December 2021 through November 2022, Pending Sales in the Western Upstate region were down 11.1 percent overall. The price range with the largest gain in sales was the $300,001 and Above range, where they increased 12.5 percent.
The overall Median Sales Price was up 12.2 percent to $266,000. The property type with the largest price gain was the Condos segment, where prices increased 28.4 percent to $217,000. The price range that tended to sell the quickest was the $150,001 to $200,000 range at 40 days; the price range that tended to sell the slowest was the $300,001 and Above range at 51 days.
Market-wide, inventory levels were up 89.0 percent. The property type that gained the most inventory was the Single Family segment, where it increased 91.5 percent. That amounts to 3.2 months supply for Single-Family homes and 3.5 months supply for Condos.
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