What Do The Numbers Mean?

With the median sales price up by 8%, your home equity has likely grown since last year. Good news if you're thinking about selling!

Inventory this year is even lower than it was last year, with only 2.1 months of inventory on the market. "Months of inventory" means how many months it would take to sell every house on the market (assuming there are no new listings). Six months of inventory is considered a neutral market. Any more, and it's a buyer's market. Any less, and it's seller's market (less inventory means fewer options for buyers and more competition). 

So, we continue to find ourselves in a strong seller's market, with the unmet demand pushing up home prices. More good news if you're thinking about selling! However, with homes staying on the market about 23% longer this year, you will have to be patient for the right offer to come along. You should also expect more showings during this time.

For any buyers reading this blog, it's not all bad news for you. With homes staying on the market for longer, you have more opportunity to schedule tours of the homes that interest you and to make careful decisions in submitting offers. This doesn't mean that great homes don't sell quickly, and sometimes with multiple offers, but submitting an offer for a home isn't the fire drill it was in years past. And we can't miss this opportunity to mention the low mortgage interest rates! The low rates help to offset the rising home prices and improve affordability.

(All data referenced in this post is from Realcomp II LTD InfoSparks reports and includes single family and condominium homes.)