May saw the highest recorded monthly median home price, topping out at $259,000. This is 4% over the $248,500 from May of last year, and just over 3% over the previous month’s median home price. Single family homes peaked at $261,000 while townhomes/condos hit $210,000.
May marked the 51st consecutive month of year-over-year price appreciation, however, for eight months in a row, starting in the last quarter of 2022, year-over-year price appreciation has remained in the single-digits. Year-to-date, median prices are up 6% in 2023 ($249,000) compared to 2022 ($235,000).
Total volume dropped to $291 million in residential real estate sold, a 30% decline over last year’s total of $414 million. On the year, total sales volume hit $1 billion through the first 4 months of the year, down 19% from the 2022 total of $1.3 billion.
“Although prices continue to climb, the rate of appreciation has slowed considerably over the past few months,” said Kelley Nisbet, president of Bluegrass Realtors®. “The lack of inventory has been a major factor in the surge in home prices but interest rates have buffered increases recently.”
Inventory levels retreated, year-over-year, for the second consecutive month but snapped a six-month, month-over-month, decline. In May, available homes on the market hit 2,296, down 7% from last year’s 2,467 but up 4% from the previous month. Inventory levels sit at 25% less than where they were at the start of the pandemic in early 2020.
With an uptick of sales over the previous month, months of inventory dropped to the lowest level of the year, hitting 1.8 months in May, down 18% from April and down 50% from the beginning of the year. Months of inventory was up 13% from last May and, year-over-year, housing supply has risen for 13 consecutive months. Over the past few years, inventory levels have trended at historic lows – a six month supply is considered a balanced market.
New real estate listings dropped 25%, a monthly low for May, when compared to a year ago, with 1,515 residential properties while last year, 2,006 properties came onto the market. The drop in new properties marks seven consecutive monthly lows starting in October 2022. May’s new listings were up 10% from April and would be a positive sign moving into the summer.
“We are moving in the right direction with month-over-month increases in inventory, new listings and sales,” continued Nisbet. “But we are still so far below the levels experienced in the market several years ago. It’s going to take a while getting back to a degree of normal, and it won’t happen without more inventory.”
May saw a 20% decline in residential home sales, year-over-year, with 1,227, the lowest monthly total since 2013, compared to last year when there were 1,525 sales. May’s total sales, however, were up 20% from the previous month. Single-family home sales for the month stood at 1164, a drop of 19%, while townhouse/condo sales were 63, a decline of 32% year-over-year.
New construction sales stood at 128 in May, an increase of 4% over the previous year and up 27% from April.
Pending sales in May remained steady from the previous month with 1,283 homes under contract, but were down 18% from last year’s 1,562 homes. May’s total homes under contract were a monthly high so far for 2023.
Homes are staying on the market longer with days on market (DOM) continuing to rise, hitting 10 consecutive months with year-over-year increases. The 39 days were the lowest in 2023 but up 77% from last year when homes on the market remained for 22 days. The median DOM doubled year-over-year, from 4 days in May 2022 to 8 days this year.
“Housing demand still remains strong in the region,” stated Nisbet. “However, inventory remains a challenge for many buyers as prices rise and sellers are holding on to properties with mortgages locked in at lower rates.”
Interest rates ended May slightly higher than April at an average of 6.4%, compared to 6.3%, an increase of just 1%, but was up from around 5.2% last year.
As the region’s leading advocate for homeownership, Bluegrass Realtors® understands the value and joy of owning a home. The Association represents more than 4,000 Realtors® located in 30 counties: Anderson, Bath, Bell, Bourbon, Clark, Clay, Elliott, Estill, Fayette, Franklin, Harrison, Jackson, Jessamine, Knox, Laurel, Lee, Madison, McCreary, Menifee, Montgomery, Nicholas, Owsley, Powell, Pulaski, Rowan, Russell, Scott, Wayne, Whitley and Woodford counties. Visit www.bluegrassrealtors.com for up to the minute real estate listings and buying and selling resources.