Home sales in May were greater than in any other May since the RE/MAX National Housing Report began in 2008. This spring has now experienced a four-month trend in which sales were higher than both the previous month and the same month in the previous year. Completed transactions in May were 8.9 percent higher than in April and 3.5 percent higher than in May 2014. The Median Sales Price of a home sold in May was $212,910, which was 7.8 percent above the price seen in May 2014. The inventory of homes for sale also continued a positive trend, with a 0.4 percent increase from April’s inventory. With a growing rate of home sales, the resulting Months Supply of Inventory in May was 3.6 on a scale where 6.0 months indicates a market balanced equally between buyers and sellers.
“Many positive factors are contributing to a strong housing market this year,” says Dave Liniger, RE/MAX CEO, chairman and co-founder. “Job growth and wages are slowly improving, while rents are increasing rapidly and mortgages are becoming much more accessible. When these factors are coupled with continuing low interest rates, the result is a growing number of consumers with the confidence to buy or sell a home.”
Transactions Year-Over-Year Change
In the 53 metro areas surveyed for the May RE/MAX National Housing Report, the average number of home sales increased 3.5 percent over sales in May 2014 and were 8.9 percent higher than in April. The average month-over-month increase for the first five months of 2015 has been 3.6 percent. With May sales, the last four months have each recorded the highest number of sales in their respective months since the RE/MAX National Housing Report began in 2008. In May, 38 metro areas reported higher sales on a year-over-year basis, with 11 reporting double digit increases.
Median Sales Price
For all homes sold in May, the Median Sales Price was $212,910. This was 4.4 percent higher than the Median Sales Price in April, and 7.8 percent higher than the price in May 2014. On a year-over-year basis, the Median Sales Price has now risen for 40 consecutive months. Continuing price appreciation is the result of pressure from a constrained inventory, which has been an average of 11 percent lower than the same time last year over the past seven months. Among the 53 metro areas surveyed, 50 reported higher prices than one year ago, with 12 rising by double-digit percentages.
Days on Market
The average Days on Market for all homes sold in May was 64, down seven days from April, and two days below the average of 66 in May 2014. May is the 26th month with a Days on Market average of 80 or below. In markets with very low inventory, such as San Francisco and Denver, Days on Market was as low as 23. The highest Days on Market average was 108 in Burlington, VT. Days on Market is the number of days between when a home is first listed in an MLS and a sales contract is signed.
Months Supply of Inventory
After a 2.3 percent month-over-month inventory increase in April, May saw a 0.4 percent increase. This is the first time there have been back-to-back monthly increases since May and June 2014. This May also marked the fifth consecutive month of inventory improvement from the previous month. However, inventory is still 11.7 percent below the level of one year ago. Based on the rate of home sales in May, the average Months Supply of Inventory was unchanged from April at 3.6. Several metros are still reporting less than a two-month supply of inventory.
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