Monthly Indicators
U.S. existing-home sales grew 3.1% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.00 million, exceeding economists’ expectations and marking the strongest sales pace since August 2023, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Falling interest rates late last year, coupled with a recent uptick in inventory, helped existing-home sales to climb following last month’s decline, with monthly gains reported in the Midwest, South, and West regions.
New Listings were up 16.8 percent to 666. Pending Sales increased 9.7 percent to 473, the seventh consecutive month of year-over-year gains. Inventory grew 22.3 percent to 1,712 units.
Prices moved higher as Median Sales Price was up 9.0 percent to $285,000. Days on Market decreased 1.4 percent to 72 days. Months Supply of Inventory was up 17.2 percent to 3.4 months, indicating that supply increased relative to demand.
Total inventory heading into February stood at 1.01 million units, a 2% increase from the previous month and a 3.1% increase from the same time last year, for a 3 months’ supply at the current sales pace, according to NAR. Although buyers may find additional options in their home search, inventory remains below the 5-6 months’ supply of a balanced market, and demand is exceeding supply. As a result, existing-home sales prices have continued to rise, climbing 5.1% year-over-year to $379,100.
Housing Supply Overview
Sales of new single-family homes continue to grow nationwide, rising 1.5% month-over-month and 1.8% year-over-year to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 661,000 units, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The median sales price for new homes rose 1.8% from the previous month to $420,700, while the average sales price was up 8.3% to $534,300 at last measure. For the 12-month period spanning March 2023 through February 2024, Pending Sales in the Western Upstate Association of REALTORS® region went up 5.1 percent overall. The price range with the largest pending sales gain was the $250,001 to $350,000 range, where sales were up 24.8 percent.
The overall Median Sales Price were up 7.6 percent to $292,100. The property type with the largest gain was the Single-Family Homes segment, where prices rose 7.1 percent to $299,900. The price range that tended to sell the quickest was the $150,000 and Below range at 52 days. The price range that tended to sell the slowest was the $1,000,001 and Above range at 79 days.
Market-wide, inventory levels rose 22.3 percent. The property type with the largest gain was the Single-Family Homes segment, where the number of properties for sale increased 23.9 percent. That amounts to 3.3 months of inventory for Single-Family Homes and 2.7 months of inventory for Condos.
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