Housing Supply Overview
Sales of newly built homes fell 4.7% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 634,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, a 7.7% decrease from the same time last year. Demand for new homes softened due to higher sales prices, elevated mortgage rates, and an increase in existing-home supply, leading builder confidence to decline for the first time since November, according to the NAHB / Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). For the 12-month period spanning June 2023 through May 2024, Pending Sales in the Western Upstate Association of REALTORS® region increased 4.0 percent overall. The price range with the largest pending sales gain was the $250,001 to $350,000 range, where sales rose 23.0 percent.
The overall Median Sales Price were up 7.7 percent to $298,900. The property type with the largest gain was the Single-Family Homes segment, where prices increased 7.0 percent to $305,000. The price range that tended to sell the quickest was the $150,001 to $250,000 range at 52 days. The price range that tended to sell the slowest was the $1,000,001 and Above range at 75 days.
Market-wide, inventory levels improved 39.8 percent. The property type with the largest gain was the Single-Family Homes segment, where the number of properties for sale increased 40.1 percent. That amounts to 3.8 months of inventory for Single-Family Homes and 3.8 months of inventory for Condos.
Monthly Indicators
U.S. existing-home sales fell for the second month in a row, sliding 1.9% month-over-month and 1.9% year-over-year, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), with sales down in all four regions of the country. Higher borrowing costs and accelerating home prices continue to weigh on demand, pushing some prospective buyers to the sidelines and causing market activity to slump ahead of summer.
New Listings were up 9.9 percent to 841. Pending Sales decreased 11.0 percent to 551. Inventory grew 39.8 percent to 1,982 units.
Prices moved higher as Median Sales Price was up 1.7 percent to $305,235. Days on Market decreased 3.2 percent to 61 days, the tenth consecutive month of year over-year declines. Months Supply of Inventory was up 34.5 percent to 3.9 months, the tenth consecutive month of year-over-year gains.
Home prices have continued to climb nationwide, despite an uptick in inventory this year. Nationally, the median existing-home price reached $407,600 as of last measure, a 5.7% increase from the same period last year and a record high for the month, according to NAR. Meanwhile, total inventory heading into May stood at 1.21 million units, a 9% increase month-over-month and a 16.3% increase year-over-year, for a 3.5 month’s supply at the current sales pace.
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