Warm Weather Creates a Hot Market
Throughout the Capital Region, home buyers are experiencing the sunshine and a competitive housing market that is projected to continue throughout the summer. The economic outlook is bright as regional unemployment remains low due to continued growth and expansion in local business communities. Buyers are watching new listings closely and making sound offers quickly. Percent of Original List Price Received at Sale rose to 96.4 percent over this period last year. Price creep is projected to continue in the coming months.
In May 2,986 new listings for existing homes and 162 new construction listings were added to the inventory though, overall, it remains lower than usual at 4.8 months – a market-wide decrease of 17 percent over last May. The lack of inventory impacted Pending Sales which showed an increase of 3 percent (1,310 for the month) – only slightly higher than May 2017. Closed Sales decreased by 7 percent to 986 for the month. The tight market placed pressure on prices which were up by 5 percent (to a Median Price of $205,000) compared to last year at this time. New construction continues to gain Buyer attention with the Median price reporting in at $420,565 for May – a 16 percent increase.
Although home sales may actually decrease in year-over-year comparisons over the next few months, the cause has more to do with low inventory than a lack of buyer interest. Days on Market dropped by nearly 20 percent to 61. Lawrence Yun, National Association of REALTORS® Chief Economist, said this spring’s low inventory levels were the cause of the slowdown in existing sales. “The root cause of the underperforming sales activity in much of the country this year continues to be the utter lack of available listings on the market to meet the strong demand for buying a home,” he said. “Realtors® say the healthy economy and job market are keeping buyers in the market”. According to GCAR President, Susan Sommers, of Better Homes and Gardens Tech Valley, “Even in the face of rising mortgage rates, buyers throughout the Capital Region are pursuing the American Dream of owning their own home – REALTORS® are very busy showing, selling and closing”.