Housing Market Improving @ National Association of REALTORS®

Key Highlights

• New listings and new contracts are improving
• Sales prices rising but at slower pace
• Properties selling more quickly
• Potential buyers looking for open houses in Montana, Connecticut and Rhode Island and near national parks

Slowly but surely, the housing market is improving in terms of new listings, signed contracts, sales pace and sales pricing. Keep a nuanced approach to the process and you’ll be fine.

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All data provided here comes to us from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).

Although affordability nation-wide is down (-9%), certain metros increased affordability by +9% in April 2020 compared with last year. Take a look at the top affordability scores:

• Durham-Chapel Hill NC – +23%
• Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington +22%
• Portland-Vancouver OR-WA +17%
• Omaha-Council Bluffs NE-IA +15%
• Houston-The Woodlands TX +14%
• Salt Lake City UT +13%
• Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson IN +12%
• Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale AZ +12%
• Austin-Round Rock TX +11%
• Des Moines- West Des Moines IA +11%

Obviously, Millennials are drawn to affordable markets.

New listings and pending sales are still down compared to last year’s numbers BUT the rate of decline in each of these factors eased up in May compared to April’s drop. As of May 31, new contracts were down on a year-to-year basis BUT resurrected themselves to -5% from the -12% in May 24 and the eye-popping drops that happened the weeks of April 26 and May 3 (-41%).

The percentage change in regional new listings in all four regions of the country looked like this from the end of April to the end of May while the country as a whole saw listings being down -41% on 4/30/20 and up close to half to -23% on 5/31/20 compared to last year:

• North
  • -60% – 4/30/20
  • -35% – 5/31/20
• Midwest
  • -34% – 4/30/20
  • -18% – 5/31/20
• South
  • -32% – 4/30/20
  • -16% – 5/31/20
• West
  • -47% – 4/30/20
  • -34% – 5/31/20

Year-over-year new pending contracts looked like this in April and May in the four regions of the country while nation-wide, new pending contracts were -37% on 4/30/20 and -13% on 5/31/20.

• North
  • -52% – 4/30/20
  • -33% – 5/31/20
• Midwest
  • -24% – 4/30/20
  • -7% – 5/31/20
• South
  • -32% – 4/30/20
  • -4% – 5/31/20
• West
  • -47% – 4/30/20
  • -21% – 5/31/20

As we mentioned up top, sales prices are mostly rising though at a slower pace. The median exiting sale price was up +5% y/y in the four weeks that ended on May 31, 2020 and the sale to list price ratio remained fairly constant at 96%. The bottom line – sellers are not slashing their prices and this slower pace of appreciation is making home prices more affordable.

The week ending May 31 saw the median days on the market as being 30 days, whereas the DOM one year earlier was 32 days. Median closing time plateaued at 39 days as of May 31.

Thanks to the National Association of REALTORS®.

Also read: Podcast: Why Do So Many Agents Needlessly Struggle? | Tim and Julie Harris, Is Remote Working the “Extension Cord” Buyers Need for Suburban Living?, Best Social Media Marketing Tools for 2020 – Part II