Fall is the season where green turns to orange—including the number of home sales, with an expected seasonal leveling off that held true once more in 2024.
RE/MAX published its latest monthly housing survey, looking across 52 U.S. metro areas to track fickle market trends such as inventory supply. While the number of homes for sale is up, new-home sales themselves dropped. The report notes, though, that his decline can be attributed to seasonality.
Across the surveyed areas, the number of homes listed for sale was higher in September than it had been both in August (6.4% higher, precisely) and September 2023 (33.6% greater).
Sales of homes dropped by 13.3% from August to September, though. This is in-line with previous summer to autumn declines; compare August to September 2023 (a 13.8% drop in home sales) and August to September 2022 (9.8% drop).
RE/MAX, LLC President Amy Lessinger summarized the results, and forecast their meanings, as such:
“While we’re seeing a slight cooling in sales, it’s encouraging to note that home inventory has been steadily increasing, giving buyers more options in the market. The consistency in sales prices and the fact that buyers are still paying 99% of asking price demonstrates the resiliency in today’s housing market. Lower rates could generate some increased activity as we end 2024 and start 2025.”
While these figures account for the nationwide real estate market, how do statewide results compare to each other if one zooms in?
Regional breakdown
The key metrics covered in the RE/MAX housing survey include the number of new listings, the number of closed transactions, median sales prices, close-to-list price ratios, the number of days homes spend on the market and months’ supply of inventory.
Western states saw the highest increases in new listings during September, with the following top five:
- Bozeman, Montana (35.9%)
- Phoenix, Arizona (32.8%)
- Las Vegas, Nevada (27.5%)
- San Diego, California (24.4%)
- Honolulu, Hawaii (21.7%)
In terms of raw numbers, Bozeman’s top-ranked increase was 181 listings to 246, while second-place Phoenix jumped from 6,624 listings to 8,795.
The top five markets with the greatest decrease in closed transactions during September include:
- Tampa, Florida (21.9%)
- Omaha, Nebraska (16.2%)
- Miami, Florida (16.1%)
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (12.7%)
- Des Moines, Iowa (12.3%)
The strongest regional correlation to these results is Florida metro areas appearing twice in the top three. (The state’s climate-driven high home insurance premiums could be a driving cause here.)
From September 2023 to September 2024, median sales prices increased the most in the following markets:
- Hartford, Connecticut (11.9%)
- Cleveland, Ohio (9.1%)
- Providence, Rhode Island (8.9%)
- Richmond, Virginia (8.4%)
- Anchorage, Alaska (8.3%)
The average close-to-list price ratio in all 52 metro areas was 99%, unchanged from August and September 2023. The market with the highest ratio was Hartford at a 103.6% over asking price average. The lowest was Miami at a 94.1% below listing price ratio.
The average number of days on market for listings in September was 40 days—two days higher than in August and five days higher than in September 2023. The cities with the fewest days on the market included Baltimore (13 day average), Washington D.C. (14 days), Trenton (15 days), Philadelphia (16 days) and Hartford (17).
Months’ supply of inventory is, nationwide, estimated at 2.7 months, a steady increase from 2.4 months’ worth in August and 2.1 months’ worth in September. Despite the increase in inventory, the market remains a seller’s one (six months or more is generally considered the benchmark for a buyer’s market).
U.S. metro areas with the lowest amount of inventory included Manchester, New Hampshire (1.1 months); Seattle, Washington; Trenton, New Jersey; Baltimore, Maryland (all 1.2 months); and Hartford, Connecticut (1.3 months).
U.S. metro areas with the highest amount of inventory included Miami, Florida (6.4 months); Bozeman, Montana (5.7); and San Antonio, Texas (5.2).
For the full report, visit the RE/MAX website here.
