Monthly Housing Indicators
U.S. existing-home sales increased for the first time in 5 months, as lower mortgage rates and rising supply helped boost market activity. According to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), sales of previously owned homes rose 1.3% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.95 million units, exceeding economists’ expectations and ending the downward trend of recent months.
New Listings were up 5.3 percent to 812. Pending Sales decreased 13.7 percent to 497. Inventory grew 39.7 percent to 2,029 units.
Prices moved higher as Median Sales Price was up 7.6 percent to $312,000. Days on Market increased 18.5 percent to 64 days, the twelfth consecutive month of yearover-year gains. Months Supply of Inventory was up 37.9 percent to 4.0 months, the twelfth consecutive month of year-over-year gains.
Nationally, total housing inventory edged up 0.8% from the previous month to 1.33 million units heading into August, for a 4.0-month supply at the current sales pace, NAR data shows. Although inventory is up nearly 20% compared to the same time last year, demand continues to outpace supply, putting upward pressure on sales prices. According to NAR, the nationwide median existing-home price rose 4.2%
year-over-year to $422,600 at last measure, marking the 13th consecutive month of annual price increases.
Housing Supply Overview
U.S. new home sales rose to the highest level since May 2023, following three consecutive monthly declines. Sales of new single-family homes increased 10.6% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 739,000 units, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, with sales up in all four regions. Nationally, the median new-home sales price grew 3.1% from the previous month to $429,800, with a 7.5-month supply at the current sales pace. For the 12-month period spanning September 2023 through August 2024, Pending Sales in the Western Upstate Association of REALTORS® region were up 2.9 percent overall. The price range with the largest pending sales gain was the $500,001 to $750,000 range,
where sales went up 21.4 percent.
The overall Median Sales Price rose 5.3 percent to $300,000. The property type with the largest gain was the Condos segment, where prices increased 10.4 percent to $243,423. The price range that tended
to sell the quickest was the $150,000 and Below range at 52 days. The price range that tended to sell the slowest was the $1,000,001 and Above range at 78 days.
Market-wide, inventory levels rose 39.7 percent. The property type with the largest gain was the Condos segment, where the number of properties for sale were up 71.3 percent. That amounts to 3.9 months of
inventory for Single-Family Homes and 4.6 months of inventory for Condos.
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