Housing Supply Overview
After several years of declining inventory and supply, more and more housing markets are beginning to find their way toward a state of balance in terms of available listings. There is still work to be done, but the situation is not as dire as it once was. For the 12-month period spanning July 2018 through June 2019, Pending Sales in the Western Upstate region were down 1.6 percent overall. The price range with the largest gain in sales was the $200,001 to $300,000 range, where they increased 6.1 percent.
The overall Median Sales Price was up 2.3 percent to $175,000. The property type with the largest price gain was the Condos segment, where prices increased 5.9 percent to $134,000. The price range that tended to sell the quickest was the $100,000 and Below range at 99 days; the price range that tended to sell the slowest was the $300,001 and Above range at 129 days.
Market-wide, inventory levels were up 12.2 percent. The property type that gained the most inventory was the Condos segment, where it increased 29.4 percent. That amounts to 4.9 months supply for Single- Family homes and 5.7 months supply for Condos.
Monthly Indicators
As was widely expected, the Federal Reserve did not change the target range for the federal funds rate – currently set at 2.25 to 2.5 percent –during their June meeting. Although the economy is still performing well due to factors such as low unemployment and solid retail sales, uncertainty remains regarding trade tensions, slowed manufacturing and meek business investments.
New Listings were up 3.4 percent to 691. Pending Sales decreased 42.5 percent to 284. Inventory grew 12.2 percent to 2,154 units.
Prices moved lower as Median Sales Price was down 5.5 percent to 179,450. Days on Market increased 1.9 percent to 110 days. Months Supply of Inventory was up 13.6 percent to 5.0 months, indicating that supply increased relative to demand.
In terms of relative balance between buyer and seller interests, residential real estate markets across the country are performing well within an economic expansion that will become the longest in U.S. history in July. However, there are signs of a slowing economy. The Federal Reserve considers 2.0 percent a healthy inflation rate, but the U.S. is expected to remain below that this year. The Fed has received pressure from the White House to cut rates in order to spur further economic activity, and the possibility of a rate reduction in 2019 is definitely in play following a string of increases over the last several years.
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