Residential real estate is experiencing its best year since the recession. Housing demand is healthy, and that is expected to continue past the end of the year. Home sales are actually set to have their best national showing since 2006. More of the same is anticipated in 2016, but inventory and affordability challenges coupled with mortgage rate increases will likely keep any sort of monster growth in check. This should be a good thing for keeping home prices from increasing too rapidly to maintain economic stability.
For the month of November, Closed Sales decreased 3.5 percent for existing homes and 8.3 percent for new homes. Pending Sales increased 20.4 percent for existing homes and 8.8 percent for new homes. Inventory decreased 28.0 percent for existing homes and 12.1 percent for new homes. The Median Sales Price was up 3.8 percent to $151,500 for existing homes and 3.8 percent to $340,570 for new homes. Days on Market decreased 10.7 percent for existing homes but increased 4.7 percent for new homes. Supply decreased 34.1 percent for existing homes and 23.9 percent for new homes.
Unemployment rates across the nation changed little last month, which bodes well for an increase in buying activity. The national jobless rate was 5.0 percent in October, which was 0.7 percent lower than the year prior. Although housing and employment data are quite positive at this juncture, it is still certainly possible for listings and sales to be down in year-over-year comparisons. Bad weather and the mix of housing available to buyers tend to have a greater effect on trends at the end of the year than during the midsummer months.
Click here to view more specific numbers for the KC metro market as of the end of November 2015. If you would like more specific numbers about your neighborhood, feel free to call or email us and we’d be happy to run a more in-depth report.
*Information courtesy of KCRAR and Heartland MLS