The number of homes for sale, days on market and months of supply were all down in year-over-year comparisons in a majority of the country for the entirety of 2017, as was housing affordability. And although total sales volumes were mixed, prices were consistently up in most markets. Buyers may not benefit from higher prices, but sellers do, and there should be more listing activity by more confident sellers in 2018. At least that would be the most viable prediction for an economic landscape pointing toward improved conditions for sellers.
New Listings were up 18.9 percent to 327. Pending Sales increased 44.3 percent to 306. Inventory shrank 6.9 percent to 2,049 units.
Prices moved higher as Median Sales Price was up 5.0 percent to $314,000. Days on Market decreased 3.3 percent to 148 days.Months Supply of Inventory was down 19.0 percent to 5.1 months, indicating that demand increased relative to supply.
Unemployment rates have remained low throughout 2017, and wages have shown improvement, though not always to levels that match home price increases. Yet housing demand remained incredibly strong in 2017, even in the face of higher mortgage rates that are likely to increase further in 2018. Home building and selling professionals are both cautiously optimistic for the year ahead. Housing and economic indicators give reason for this optimism, with or without new federal tax legislation.
Posted by Christina Galbreath-Gonzalez on
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