Kirk Keebler
Jun 15, 20222 min
After two years of record-setting activity, there are signs the housing market might be cooling. High home prices and a surge in mortgage interest rates are slowing buyer activity, with home sales declining for the third consecutive month under the weight of soaring home ownership costs.
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) reports national existing home sales were down 2.4% from the previous month, while pending sales fell 3.9% as of last measure, extending the trend of recent months. Economists predict sales will continue to soften in the near future, which may put downward pressure on home prices.
In Washtenaw County, New Listings decreased 8.2 percent for Single Family homes and 27.5 percent for Townhouse/Condo homes. Pending Sales increased 40.5 percent for Single Family homes and 22.7 percent for Townhouse/Condo homes. Inventory decreased 43.1 percent for Single Family homes and 56.2 percent for Townhouse/Condo homes. Median Sales Prices for Washtenaw County increased 11.7 percent to $420,000 for Single Family homes and 22 percent to $311,083 for Townhouse/Condo homes. Average Days on Market remain flat for Single Family homes and decreased 42.1 percent for Townhouse/Condo properties. Months Supply of Inventory decreased 35.3 percent for Single Family homes and 57.7 percent for Townhouse/Condo homes.
The slowdown in sales has provided a much-needed lift to housing supply, with inventory up 10.8% from the previous month according to NAR, although supply remains down 10.4% compared to this time last year, with only 2.2 months' worth of supply of homes at the current sales pace. As the nation continues to explore ways to solve the ongoing housing shortage, estimated at 5.5 million homes, the Biden administration recently unveiled the Housing Supply Action Plan, which aims to expand housing access through a number of legislative and administrative actions and help relieve the nations housing crisis over the next 5 years.
Courtesy of the Ann Arbor Area Board of REALTORS