March home sales declined some 4.9% after a robust February though analysts aren\u2019t terribly concerned about the dip, citing rising inventories as the market\u2019s way of keeping home prices in check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s the conclusion offered by the National Association of Realtors\n in their assessment of the current state of the market. Chief economist\n for the NAR, Lawrence Yun, said of March 2019\u2019s numbers, \u201cIt is not \nsurprising to see a retreat after a powerful surge in sales in the prior\n month. Still, current sales activity is underperforming in relation to \nthe strength in the jobs markets. The impact of lower mortgage rates has\n not yet been fully realized.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2019 market is expected to be strong overall, but there are a lot\n of hidden factors that could have a big impact one way or the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of these issues revolve around new tax codes and the pressures construction firms face in funding new projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SALES OF EXISTING HOMES IN MARCH 2019 ARE DOWN 5.4% YEAR OVER YEAR WITH 5.51 MILLION UNITS SOLD IN 2018 AS OPPOSED TO 5.21 MILLION THIS YEAR.<\/p>NAR existing home sales report April 23, 2019<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Median prices for existing homes showed a reverse trend, besting \ntheir 2018 number but some $10,000. The median existing-home price in \n2018 was $249,800 compared to the jump in 2019 to $259,400. This isn\u2019t \nthat surprising, however, given that it is the \u201c85th straight month of \nyear-over-year gains\u201d according to the NAR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Housing inventory numbers are also up in March 2019 as compared to \nthe month prior, rising from 1.63 million to 1.68 million. This number \nis also up from the 1.64 million number of homes for sale one year prior\n with a 3.9 month supply of inventory if the current rate of sales \ncontinues. That number is up from 3.6 months of unsold inventory in \nFebruary and March 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As stated earlier, the NAR thinks this is a positive sign, or as Yun \ncomments, \u201cFurther increases in inventory are highly desirable to keep \nhome prices in check\u2026The sustained steady gains in home sales can occur \nwhen home price appreciation grows at roughly the same pace as wage \ngrowth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though the NAR is largely positive in their assessment of the \ncurrent state of the real estate market, there are some developments \nthat could complicate this year\u2019s market, namely with regard to changes \nin the tax code implemented the past several years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
THE AVERAGE HOME REMAINED ON THE MARKET FOR 36 DAYS AS OPPOSED TO 44 DAYS A YEAR AGO.<\/p>National Association of Realtors<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe lower-end market is hot while the upper-end market is not. The expensive home market will experience challenges due to the curtailment of tax deductions of mortgage interest payments and property taxes,\u201d Yun says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The upper-end slowdown is particularly impacted by tax laws and changes to them as most of the upper-tier properties are purchased in addition to other homes already owned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Real estate markets that are currently experiencing very \nrobust sales include Columbus, Ohio, Boston, Massachusetts, the Midland \nTexas region, Sacramento and Stockton, California.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Current NAR President John Smaby thinks the increasing inventory \nnumbers are an especially good sign since mortgage rates are at \nhistorical lows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s some indication that the low mortgage rates and high \ninventories are attracting buyers. A total of 33% of all home sales in \nMarch 2019 were to first-time home buyers. Then again, a profile of all \nhome buyers in 2018 shows that 33% were first-time home buyers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of the high inventories, he said: \u201cWe had been calling for additional\n inventory, so I am pleased to see that there has been a modest increase\n on that front\u2026We\u2019re also seeing very favorable mortgage rates, so now \nwould be a great time for those buyers who may have been waiting to make\n a purchase.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even with mortgage rates so low, all-cash offers are still a healthy \nportion of the overall market. A full 21% of all sales in March 2019 \nwere cash offers, up from 20% a year ago but down from 23% in February. \nForeclosures and short sales dropped to 3% of March\u2019s total sales while \nthe number was about 4% in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Single-family home sales in March 2019 were down compared to the \nprevious year and down further from the numbers reported in February. \nCondos and co-ops, however, suffered a particularly steep drop with \nsales volume down 5.3% compared with last month and off some 11.5% \ncompared to last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The media single-family home price in March was $261,000 and the \nmedian condo or co-op price was $244,000. All major regions experienced a\n slight drop in March 2019, with the Northeast down some 1.5% and the \nMidwest down some 8.6% year over year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, the South experienced a 3.4% annual decrease while the West had a 6.0% decline.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The NAR\u2019s Pending Home Sales Index will be released at the end of\n this month while the report on Existing-Home Sales for April 2019 will \nbe released on May 21.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
March home sales declined some 4.9% after a robust February though analysts aren\u2019t terribly concerned about the dip, citing rising inventories as the market\u2019s way of keeping home prices in check. That\u2019s the conclusion offered by the National Association of Realtors in their assessment of the current state of the market. Chief economist for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[52,23,53],"class_list":["post-1059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-estate-market","tag-home-sales","tag-thailand-housing-market","tag-us"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t