Monthly Indicators
Higher mortgage rates, along with elevated sales prices and a lack of housing inventory, have continued to impact market activity during the summer homebuying season. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has remained above 6.5% since May, recently hitting a two-decade high in August, according to Freddie Mac. As a result, existing-home sales have continued to slow nationwide, dropping 2.2% month-over-month as of last measure, with sales down 16.6% compared to the same time last year, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).
New Listings were up 3.5 percent to 743. Pending Sales decreased 3.7 percent to 540. Inventory grew 9.9 percent to 1,550 units.
Prices moved higher as Median Sales Price was up 11.5 percent to $290,000. Days on Market increased 26.2 percent to 53 days. Months Supply of Inventory was up 18.5 percent to 3.2 months, indicating that supply increased relative to demand.
Falling home sales have done little to cool home prices, however, which have continued to sit at record high levels nationally thanks to a limited supply of homes for sale. According to NAR, there were 1.11 million homes for sale heading into August, 14.6% fewer homes than the same period last year, for a 3.3 months’ supply at the current sales pace. The shortage of homes for sale has boosted competition for available properties and is driving sales prices higher, with NAR reporting a national median existing-home price of $406,700, a 1.9% increase from a year earlier.
Housing Supply Overview
New-home sales recently hit a 17-month high, rising 4.4% month-over month nationally, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. New-home sales were up 31.5% year-over-year, led by gains in the Midwest and West, where monthly sales jumped 47.4% and 21.5%, respectively. The new home market continues to benefit from the lack of existing-home inventory, and with many builders offering sales incentives, including price reductions and mortgage rate buydowns, homebuyers are increasingly turning to new construction for their next home purchase. For the 12-month period spanning September 2022 through August 2023, Pending Sales in the Western Upstate Association of REALTORS® region were down 6.8 percent overall. The price range with the largest pending sales gain was the $750,001 to $1,000,000 range, where sales improved 11.8 percent.
The overall Median Sales Price improved 10.0 percent to $285,000. The property type with the largest gain was the Single-Family Homes segment, where prices went up 9.7 percent to $290,600. 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 77 days.
Market-wide, inventory levels increased 9.9 percent. The property type with the largest gain was the Single-Family Homes segment, where the number of properties for sale were up 9.6 percent. That amounts to 3.1 months of inventory for Single-Family Homes and 3.1 months of inventory for Condos.
For this, and previous, market reports click here.