Home sales increase as prices plummet, but inventories drop – Real Estate News

According to August’s data in the RE/MAX Housing National Report, homeowners generally accepted offers below their listed prices last month which is a further sign of rebalancing in the housing market. Within the report’s 51 metro areas The average Close-to-List-Price ratio in August was 99 percent, which means that homes sold for 1 percent less than the asking price. This is down from 101 percent in July and 104 percent in April. This change helped push August sales 5.3% higher than July, while the Median Sales Price fell 2.4 percent to $410,000, after reaching a high of $426,000 a month earlier.

In the same time the number of listings for sale dropped 12.8% from July and inventory decreased 1.8 percent following four months of double-digit growth. Even so the number of homes for sale was 20 percent higher than the number in August 2021.

“Patient buyers were rewarded in August, as prices softened from July. Sales increased as buyers ‘bought the dip’ – which was not the trend many people were expecting. The activity modestly depleted inventory, although the number of homes for sale remains significantly higher than this time a year ago,” said Nick Bailey, RE/MAX President and CEO. “The late-summer burst of activity underscores the housing market’s resiliency. Despite the uptick in interest rates and concerns about the economy, demand remains strong. We’ll see what happens from here, but the August bump in sales was great news for the industry.”

The RE/MAX Executive Realty real estate agent Gina Mayes Harris, who is located in Charlotte, NC, “The Charlotte market is showing strength for both buyers and sellers with homes now selling at market value. Buyers are no longer bidding against each other to extremes, and while sellers are not seeing the same level of price appreciation gains as they have in the past year or two, we expect continued low single-digit appreciation in the coming months and year. All signs point to a more balanced market providing plenty of opportunities for buyers and sellers.”

Two-thirds of the way through 2022, home sales have declined every month when compared to 2021. Other important statistics include:

• Months Inventory Supply was 1.6 months in August, a decline from 1.7 in July but an increase when compared to 1.2 in August 2021.
• Days on Market averaged 28 days, four days more than July and 3 more days than August 2021.
• The August Median Sales Price was $410,000, which is 2.4 percent lower than July, however, it was up 7 percent year-over-year.

Highlights and local market statistics in August are:

New Listings (and get more Real Estate insights)
In the 50 metro areas that were surveyed in August 2022, the total number of newly listed homes decreased by 12.8% in comparison to July 2022 and down 13.1 percent compared with August 2021. The metro areas with the highest decrease in year-over year new listings percentage were Dover, DE at -59.4%, Milwaukee, WI at -33.6 percent, and St. Louis, MO at -27.1 percent. Leading the way in increased percent of new listings year-over year were Washington, DC at +13.2%, Raleigh, NC at +10.7% as well as New Orleans, LA at +8.4%.

Active Inventory:  5 Markets with the Most YoY Decline
Market	Aug 2022  New Listings	Aug 2021  New Listings	Year-over-  Year %  Change
Dover, DE	442	1,090	-59.4 %
Milwaukee, WI	1,695	2,554	-33.6 %
St. Louis, MO	4,302	5,902	-27.1 %
Bozeman, MT	234	314	-25.5 %
Anchorage, AK	637	847	-24.8 %

Closed Transactions 

Of the 51 metro regions surveyed in August 2022, the overall number of home sales was up 5.3 percent as compared to July 2022 and down 20.1% compared to August 2021. The markets with the biggest decline in the year-over-year sales percentage included Bozeman, MT at -44.1%, Las Vegas, NV at -37.3%, and Phoenix, AZ at -31.4 percent. There was no metro area that had an increase in sales year-over-year percentage.

Closed Transactions:  5 Markets that have the Biggest YoY Decline
Market	Aug 2022  Transactions	Aug 2021  Transactions	Year-over-  Year %  Change
Bozeman, MT	175	313	-44.1 %
Las Vegas, NV	2,654	4,235	-37.3 %
Phoenix, AZ	5,902	8,605	-31.4 %
San Diego, CA	2,590	3,769	-31.3 %
Salt Lake City, UT	1,262	1,835	-31.2 %

Median Sales Price Median of 51 metro area prices 

In August 2022, the median of all the metropolitan area sales was $410,000. This was down 2.4 percent compared to July 2022 and up 7.0% in August 2021. Two metro areas saw a year-over-year decrease in median sales prices, San Francisco, CA at -4.2% and Honolulu, HI at -0.7 percent. Twenty metro areas increased year-over-year by double-digit percentages. The top three were Fayetteville, AR at +20.4%, Tampa, FL at +19.4%, and Orlando, FL at +17.5%.

Median Sales Price:  5 Markets with the Biggest YoY Growth
Market	Aug 2022  Median Sales  Price	Aug 2021  Median Sales  Price	Year-over-  Year %  Change
Fayetteville, AR	$325,000	$270,000	+20.4 %
Tampa, FL	$370,000	$310,000	+19.4 %
Orlando, FL	$387,765	$330,000	+17.5 %
Atlanta, GA	$385,000	$330,493	+16.5 %
Charlotte, NC	$400,000	$344,500	+16.1 %

Close-to-List Price Ratio – Average of 51 prices in the metro area. 

In August 2022, the average close to list price ratio of the 51 metro areas included in the report was 99%, which is down from 101% compared to July 2022 as well as from 102% when compared to August 2021. The ratio of close-to-list price is calculated using the average value of the sale cost divided by the list price in each transaction. When the number is above 100%, the home sold for more than the list price. If it’s less than 100%, the home was sold for less than its list price. The metropolitan areas with the lowest ratio of close-to-list price were Washington, DC at 84 percent and an even tie between Bozeman, MT and Coeur d’Alene, ID at 97 percent. The highest ratios for close-to-list prices were recorded in Burlington, VT at 104 percent followed by a tie between Hartford, CT and Manchester, NH at 103%.

Close-to-List Price Ratio:  5 Markets with the Largest YoY decrease
Market	Aug 2022  Close-to-List  Price Ratio	Aug 2021  Close-to-List  Price Ratio	Year-over-  Year %  Change
Washington, DC	84.4 %	101.0 %	-16.5 %
San Francisco, CA	101.6 %	108.4 %	-6.3 %
Seattle, WA	98.6 %	104.3 %	-5.5 %
Raleigh, NC	100.5 %	104.3 %	-3.6 %
San Diego, CA	98.4 %	101.6 %	-3.2 %

Days on Market Average of 51 metropolitan areas 

The average days on market for homes that sold in the month of August 2022 was 27 days, up four days from the average for July 2022 and up three days from the average for August 2021. The areas with the lowest number of days on market were Dover, DE at 10, Baltimore, MD at 11 followed by two-way tie between Philadelphia, PA and Washington, DC at 13. The highest days on market averages were recorded in Fayetteville, AR at 63, followed by a tie between New York, NY and Seattle, WA at 47. Days on market is the time between the time a property is listed for the first time in an MLS and a sales contract is executed.

Days on Market:  5 Markets with the Biggest YoY Growth
Market	Aug 2022  Days on  Market	Aug 2021  Days on  Market	Year-over-  Year %  Change
Bozeman, MT	39	20	+97.3 %
Salt Lake City, UT	35	19	+82.0 %
Denver, CO	26	14	+79.1 %
Tampa, FL	30	17	+77.4 %
Orlando, FL	33	20	+68.0 %

Months” Supply of Inventory Average of 51 metropolitan areas 

The number of homes available for sale in August 2022 was down 1.8 percent from July 2022 but up 20.0% from August 2021. Based on the pace of homes sold during August 2022. The months’ inventory fell to 1.6 compared to 1.7 in July 2022, and increased to 1.2 in August 2021. In August 2022 the markets with the lowest months’ supply of inventory were a tie between Albuquerque and New Mexico. Manchester, NH at 0.7 followed by a tie between Charlotte, NC and Hartford, CT at 0.8.

Months Supply of Inventory:  5 Markets with the Biggest YoY decrease
Market	Aug 2022  Months’ Supply  of Inventory	Aug 2021  Months’ Supply  of Inventory	Year-over-  Year %  Change
Hartford, CT	0.8	1.1	-28.7 %
Providence, RI	1.0	1.3	-24.3 %
Chicago, IL	1.8	2.3	-20.3 %
Tulsa, OK	0.9	1.1	-19.7 %
Cincinnati, OH	0.9	1.1	-18.8 %