May 2018 Market Update
This month’s market update shows a transition in to the spring/summer level of activity. While its still a strong market, fewer listings are coming on.
Here is what our friends at the Cromford Report have to say about what we can expect.
“The supply of active listings without a contract got worse compared to last year, 15.1% down compared to 14.3% lower last month. We normally see supply drop between April and May and expect this trend to continue until September. Buyers can expect fewer homes to choose from, but at least there will also be a fall in the number of buyers looking at them. Buying activity tends to drop as the temperatures rise. Pending listings are still lower than last year but the gap has reduced from 5.9% to 2.1% over the last month. The number of listings under contract is also down compared to last year, but up 4.3% from last month suggesting a strong sales month
in May.
Prices continued to rise during April but quite a bit slower than in March. The average price for homes under contract suggests another modest rise by the end of May.
The situation below $500,000 remains largely unchanged, still a tough place to be a buyer and little sign of any relief. The next price range up, between $500,000 and $1,000,000 has started to go a similar way, with falling inventory and price rises beginning to gain momentum. Demand is very strong over $1,000,000 but relatively plentiful inventory has been stopping prices from rising quickly until recently.
Despite a slight dampening effect of demand from the higher interest rates, there is still more than enough demand for homes to overwhelm the inadequate supply in the general market. For the highest price ranges, where excessive supply had been a problem since 2015, demand has increased to the point where the supply is now looking quite normal and prices can make some progress again.
For sellers, the situation continues to look very good while any bargaining power that buyers possessed is gradually drifting away from them.”
We are preparing our clients for the summer months. If you are thinking of selling or buying, please give us a call at 602-456-9388 and we can help you make the right plans.
