SPRINGFIELD (November 15, 2016) Pending sales, closed sales, foreclosure sales, and new listings decreased while the median sale price and days on market increased in the Capital Area during October 2016, according to the Capital Area REALTORS® (CAR) Multiple Listing Service.
For the month of October 2016, the median home sale price (for all single-family homes and condominiums) was $118,800, an increase of 0.6 percent from the $118,000 October 2015 price. The year-to-date median price through October of 2016 was $122,500, up 2.2 percent from $119,900 during the prior year. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less.
Total existing home sales which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, condominiums and townhomes, in the Capital Area during October of 2016 were 341, a decrease of 1.7 percent from 347 during the prior October. The number of home sales year-to-date through October of 2016 was 3,302, reflecting an increase of 1.2 percent over the prior year sales of 3,263.
“As we enter the final quarter of 2016, not much has changed since the year began. Market predictions have been, in a word, predictable. A relatively comfortable pace of activity has been maintained thanks to continuing low unemployment and mortgage rates,” according to REALTOR John Klemm, president of the organization.
There were 282 sale pendings in October 2016, down 2.4 percent from the 289 sale pendings during the same time in 2015.
The average cumulative days on market for all home sales in October of 2016 was 81 days, up from 79 days during October of 2015. Year-to-date cumulative days on market was at 83, a 9.8 percent decline from 92 days during the same period in 2015.
The 25 foreclosure sales in October of 2016 reflected 7.6 percent of all sales, barely changed from 7.8 percent in October of 2015.
According to CAR, the supply of homes on the market currently stands at 4.0 months, down from 4.5 months during October of 2015. The days on market metric measures the number of months it would take to sell the current inventory of available homes at the current pace. Five to six months’ of inventory is considered a balanced market. "The one basic drag on market acceleration has been inventory decline. There is little to indicate that the low inventory situation will resolve anytime soon,” said Klemm.
The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. reported that the national average commitment rate for 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgages was 3.47 percent in October 2016, down slightly from the 3.80 average rate during October of 2015.
The Capital Area REALTORS® is the Voice for Real Estate in the Capital Area representing more than 800 members involved in all aspects of the real estate industry. The Capital Area's Resource for Real Estate Information can be found at www.SeeHouses.com
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