“How’s The Market?”…fast and furious! Prices keep rising and homes are selling faster. Despite predictions we may see a slowdown, things are actually heating up and the spring rush of new listings hasn’t happened yet. Here’s what you need to know from someone on front lines. Lets look at the stats below, break them down, and come to an honest conclusion.
Homes Are Selling Even Faster! Days On Market DOWN 27% Between March & April 2017
This is crazy! The TOTAL days on market is only 30 days right now..but days til an offer is received (not shown) is in the single digits.
Mike’s Take:
Homes are continuing to sell so quickly because supply still isn’t keeping up with demand. There were fewer listings put on the market in April (Compared to prior month of March) which made homes sell even faster. The demand is increasing with the typical spring rush and we just aren’t seeing supply increase which is not typical for this time of year.
# Homes For Sale Remains Low: Only 5,361 Active Listings
Sellers have been amazed at the prices their homes have sold for, and if the # of active listings doesn’t increase (like now!)….it’s very likely home prices are going to see more huge gains this year. Look at that chart….FEWER homes came on the market in April compared to March…that is absurd!
Mike’s Take:
As I wrote last month, a “normal” is about 3-4 months inventory. In April, we had ~ 6,500 homes for sale and ~ 5,500 went under contract. This means if no new homes came on the market we would be “Sold out” of homes in just over 1 month. Inventory rose earlier this year and seemed that it would continue with the spring rush, but it hasn’t. Hence, I think prices are going to continue to rise this summer more than I initially predicted. How affordability and stagnant wage growth affect the continued home appreciation will bear watching.
# Sold Homes (4,389) Is DOWN 7% from Last Month And Down 4% From Last Year
As I noted in my Feb 2017 report, the # of homes sold stayed stagnant between Jan and Feb of this year. I said we should keep an eye on this if it starts to drop. Well…it has dropped about 7% from last month. The good news is the # of homes for sale has not increased at the same time….or we could see price gains slow quickly. IF the # of homes for sale grows over the coming months and the # of homes sold continues to decline….then prices will start leveling out. This will be a BIG stat to watch this summer.
Median Sales Price of Single Family Homes ($439,161) is Up Another 3.5% Since Last Month & 0.5% From Last Year
Enough bubble talk. Prices rose another 3.5% last month, and the # of homes for sale dropped. Relax…..our market is steady right now and still favors sellers. Appraisals are having a hard time keeping up which is topic for another post altogether!
Have a real estate question? Fill out this form and I will give you a shout right away!
Leave a Reply