Housing Supply Overview
Robust buyer demand, fueled by low mortgage rates, continues to outpace supply, which remains near historic lows. Nationwide, inventory remains much lower than it was at the same time last year, and sales prices are surging as a result. While the warmer temperatures, rising sales prices, and the reopening of the economy may draw more sellers to the market, historically low levels of homes for sale are likely to continue for some time in most market segments. For the 12-month period spanning June 2020 through May 2021, Pending Sales in the Western Upstate region were up 11.3 percent overall. The price range with the largest gain in sales was the $300,001 and Above range, where they increased 55.7 percent.
The overall Median Sales Price was up 20.8 percent to $224,000. The property type with the largest price gain was the Single-Family Homes segment, where prices increased 21.0 percent to $229,865. The price range that tended to sell the quickest was the $150,001 to $200,000 range at 60 days; the price range that tended to sell the slowest was the $300,001 and Above range at 87 days.
Market-wide, inventory levels were down 31.6 percent. The property type that lost the least inventory was the Single Family segment, where it decreased 31.5 percent. That amounts to 1.8 months supply for Single-Family homes and 2.3 months supply for Condos.
Monthly Indicators
As the weather warms and pandemic restrictions ease across much of the country, the U.S. housing market shows little sign of cooling. Robust buyer demand, fueled by low mortgage rates, continues to outpace supply, which remains near historic lows. Nationwide, inventory remains much lower than it was at this time last year, and sales prices are surging as a result.
New Listings were up 4.5 percent to 625. Pending Sales decreased 39.1 percent to 364. Inventory shrank 31.6 percent to 998 units.
Prices moved higher as Median Sales Price was up 25.0 percent to $235,000. Days on Market decreased 31.3 percent to 55 days. Months Supply of Inventory was down 36.7 percent to 1.9 months, indicating that demand increased relative to supply.
With such limited supply of existing homes to purchase, all eyes are on home builders to provide a much-needed boost of inventory to the market to help meet buyer demand. However, increasing material and labor costs, along with supply chain challenges, have contributed to significantly higher construction costs, with builders passing these costs on to homebuyers. And while the warmer temperatures, rising sales prices, and the reopening of the economy may draw more sellers to the market, historically low levels of homes for sale are likely to continue for some time.
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