October 2016
As we enter the final quarter of 2016, not much has changed since the year began.
Market predictions have been, in a word, predictable. A relatively comfortable pace
of activity has been maintained thanks to continuing low unemployment and
mortgage rates. The one basic drag on market acceleration has been inventory
decline. There is little to indicate that the low inventory situation will resolve anytime
soon.
New Listings were up 25.1 percent to 1,312. Pending Sales increased 33.1 percent
to 1,005. Inventory grew 6.9 percent to 4,705 units.
Prices were stable as Median Sales Price remained flat at $157,000. Days on Market
decreased 7.3 percent to 76 days. Months Supply of Inventory was down 6.3
percent to 4.5 months, the twelfth consecutive month of year-over-year declines.
Builder confidence is as high as it has been in more than a decade, yet the pace of
economic growth has been slow enough to cause pause. A low number of first-time
buyer purchases and a looming demographic shift also seem to be curbing the
desire to start new single-family construction projects. As older Americans retire and
downsize, single-family listings are expected to rise. The waiting is the hardest part.
Information courtesy of CMLS*