Transactions in August reached an all-time high for the month and second highest on record thanks, in part, to an agreed merger with the local Somerset-Lake Cumberland Association. The additional listings from the four counties around the lake region pushed total sales to 1,535 in 2021 compared to 1,460 last year, an increase of 5% year-over-year. With the pandemic pushing the 2020 selling season into the fall months, a strong August this year is a promising sign for the remainder of the year.
The Realtor® Community Housing Foundation (RCHF), the charitable arm of the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors®, is hosting its inaugural charity gala on Thursday, October 7. The gala, in partnership with Lexington Habitat for Humanity and REACH (Resources, Education, and Assistance for Community Housing), will be held at Limestone Hall, inside the historic courthouse.
Home sales dropped in July for the first time since the pandemic spread across the country last spring. Transactions saw an 8% decline year-over-year with 1,459 homes sold compared to 1,583 sales last year. Even with the slowdown, sales still reached the second highest level on record for July. Single-family homes decreased 8% with 1,364 sales while townhouse/condo sales rose 2%, with 95 sales, making up just 6.5% of the total market for the month.
For the first time in eight months, and breaking the streak of record low inventory levels in as many months, the number of homes on the market in June rose when compared to the previous month. The 1,591 homes on the market represented an 8% increase over the 1,468 homes in May. Despite the rise in inventory currently, June’s 2021 total was still 49% lower than the 3,110 homes available last year and is the 26th consecutive month of year-over-year declines. June was the fifth straight month of inventory levels being under the 2,000 mark.
Real estate prices surged to another all-time high, following the previous month’s record. May's median prices marked the third straight month of record prices and hit $227,750 for the month, an increase of 18 percent over last year’s $193,000 and up 5 percent from last month’s record of $218,000. May was the 11th consecutive month of double-digit increases and the 27th straight month of overall price increases year-over-year. Single-family homes increased 19 percent to $230,000 while townhouse/condo prices jumped 18 percent to $198,865.
Last April, home sales tumbled as the onset of the pandemic struck the real estate market. Property showings slipped away as quarantine orders were put in place and real estate activities were in limbo. Fast forward to 2021, and April saw home sales jump to a new monthly high of 1,216, an increase of 26 percent from 2020 when they were 968.
As part of Fair Housing Month, the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors® (Bluegrass REALTORS®) recently provided a $1,000 grant to the North Limestone Community Development Corporation. The grant will be used to help support the Julietta Market, a 23,000 square foot year-round multi-vendor public market that opened in late 2020 in the heart of the historic Southeast Greyhound Building on the corner of N. Limestone and Loudon Avenue. In addition, Bluegrass REALTORS® setup a temporary booth at the Julietta Market to provide home buying and selling resources and information on the advantages to owning a home. Members of Bluegrass REALTORS® were also available to discuss the current real estate market.
One year ago, when the COVID pandemic hit, real estate saw a market slowdown in Central and Southeastern Kentucky. This year, the market has hit its stride going into the typical spring season.
“Last year, in the middle of March, property showings had a steep drop off in activity due to the quarantine orders,” said Kristy Gooch, president of the Bluegrass REALTORS® (Bluegrass REALTORS®). “This year, we saw just the opposite. Showings spiked in the second week and continued through the end of the month. Buyers are certainly active in the market.”
