Housing Supply Overview
Limited existing-home inventory continues to be a boon for homebuilders, who have ramped up production to meet the rising demand in the new-home market. Nationally, housing starts were up 21.7% month-over-month as of last measure, the fastest pace in more than a year, while housing permits climbed 5.2% month-over-month, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Renewed interest in new homes this year has helped builder confidence increase to its highest level since July 2022, according to the NAHB / Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). For the 12-month period spanning July 2022 through June 2023, Pending Sales in the Western Upstate Association of REALTORS® region dropped 7.0 percent overall. The price range with the largest pending sales gain was the $750,001 to $1,000,000 range, where sales improved 27.3 percent.
The overall Median Sales Price increased 9.8 percent to $280,000. The property type with the largest gain was the Single-Family Homes segment, where prices rose 11.2 percent to $289,000. The price range that tended to sell the quickest was the $150,000 and Below range at 50 days. The price range that tended to sell the slowest was the $1,000,001 and Above range at 73 days.
Market-wide, inventory levels rose 14.1 percent. The property type with the largest gain was the Single-Family Homes segment, where the number of properties for sale improved 15.3 percent. That amounts to 2.9 months of inventory for Single-Family Homes and 3.2 months of inventory for Condos.
Monthly Indicators
Temperatures are heating up, yet the U.S. housing market remains cooler than usual for this time of year due to a combination of low inventory and higher borrowing costs, which have restricted market activity going into the summer homebuying season. According to the latest data from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), national existing-home sales climbed 0.2% from the previous month but were down 20.4% compared to the same time last year, as fluctuating mortgage rates and a near all-time low level of inventory continue to influence home sales.
New Listings were down 15.1 percent to 679. Pending Sales increased 14.7 percent to 516. Inventory grew 14.1 percent to 1,481 units.
Prices moved higher as Median Sales Price was up 8.9 percent to $304,900. Days on Market increased 43.9 percent to 59 days. Months Supply of Inventory was up 25.0 percent to 3.0 months, indicating that supply increased relative to demand.
Nationwide, total housing inventory increased 3.8% from the previous month, for a 3-month’s supply at the current sales pace. The shortage of homes for sale has kept prices high for remaining buyers, with a national median sales price of $396,100 as of last measure, a 3.1% decline from the same time last year and the largest annual decrease since December 2011, according to NAR. As demand continues to outpace supply, properties are selling quickly, with the majority of homes listed for sale on the market for less than a month.
Click here to view these, and previous, reports.