Market Summary for the Beginning of May

With only 12,500 active listings without a contract we are once again approaching a dire shortage of homes for sale. Even a modest increase in demand is likely to force prices higher and quickly recover the ground lost over the past 12 months. The median sales price is down almost 9% compared to a year ago, but has recovered nearly 4% over the last 3 months.

Read on……..

Market Summary for the Beginning of May

Here are the basics – the ARMLS numbers for May 1, 2023 compared with May 1, 2022 for all areas & types:

Active Listings: 12,503 versus 6,688 last year – up 87% – but down 10.3% from 13,933 last month
Pending Listings: 6,224 versus 7,386 last year – down 15.7% – but up 9.2% from 5,701 last month
Under Contract Listings: 9,969 versus 10,889 last year – down 8.4% – but up 11.6% from 8,935 last month
Monthly Sales: 6,662 versus 10,141 last year – down 28% – and down 12.3% from 7,598 last month
Monthly Average Sales Price per Sq. Ft.: $279.92 versus $302.48 last year – down 7.5% – but up 0.8% from $277.61 last month
Monthly Median Sales Price: $425,000 versus $466,000 last year – down 8.8% – but up 1.2% from $419,900 last month

A year ago the market was weakening fast, but pricing was approaching its peak of $306.46 per sq. ft. and closings were still running high, fueled by the unwise purchasing frenzy of institutional investors and iBuyers. The slump that followed in the second half of 2022 is now well behind us and the market is displaying increasing resilience despite interest rates that are far higher than during most of the last 10 years.

Closing volumes were unimpressive in April, but the growth in listings under contract makes up for that with one of the largest month to month increases (11.6%) that we have ever seen for this time of year. The net result is that demand is now growing again, while supply is falling even faster than before. This is good news for sellers, but most home owners are still uninterested in selling, deterred by the large increase in mortgage interest rate that would incur.

The new home market remains robust with most publicly listed home builders in an optimistic mood, supported by their stock prices hitting new highs in the last few days. The numbers in the ARMLS database suggest their optimism is justified, especially if the perception that the Federal Reserve has finished hiking interest rates becomes a reality.

If you’re considering selling or buying give me a call to discuss your situation and current market conditions. If you’re on the sidelines waiting to buy because you think there will be more downturn or a crash in the market that may be a mistake, this is the time to buy if you plan on being in the home for more than two years……

I love referrals! Please remember me! Thank you, Shawn, your Realtor.