July saw a 22% decline in residential home sales, year-over-year, with 1,109 compared to last year when there were 1,420 sales. The total sales also slid from the previous month with an 11% drop from June. Single-family home sales for the month stood at 1,027, a drop of 22%, while townhouse/condo sales were 82, a decline of 12% year-over-year.
New construction sales rose to 89 in July, an increase of 2% over last year but down 2% from June.
Pending sales in July rose 3% from the previous month with 1,246 homes under contract and closed the gap slightly, year-over-year, with only an 11% drop from last year’s 1,396 homes.
“Real estate transactions continue to face tough challenges as we move through the summer months,” said Kelley Nisbet, president of Bluegrass Realtors®. “Interest rates jumped again in July and the number of homes on the market isn’t keeping up with demand. This has pushed many would-be buyers to the sidelines until the housing selection improves.”
New real estate listings fell 20% in July when compared to last year and was the fifth consecutive month that hit all-time monthly lows. This year, there were 1,508 residential properties while last year 1,894 properties came to market. The drop in new properties marked seven of the last eight months that saw record lows. July marked the first time in 2023 that new listings dropped from the previous month. Year to date, new listings are down 19% compared to 2022.
Inventory levels have declined, year-over-year, for the fourth consecutive month. In July, available homes on the market hit 2,582, down 11% from last year’s 2,891. Despite the decline, available homes are up 5% from the previous month and the second highest level of the year behind January’s total. However, inventory levels are currently running 71% below where they were a decade earlier.
Due to the slowdown in sales, months of inventory received a boost, rising for the third consecutive month and hitting 2.3 months in July, up 15% from a year ago and from the previous month. A bright spot for housing supply is that MOI has risen for 15 consecutive months, year-over-year, although, since the start of the pandemic, inventory levels have trended at historic lows. A six-month supply is considered a balanced market.
“The region’s inventory shortage is not going anywhere,” said Nisbet. “Until more supply hits the market, prices will continue to climb. For current homeowners, this is good news as equity gains in their home are realized.”
Home prices hit another record high in July with the median topping out at $267,000 for the month, a 7% increase over last year when prices were $250,000 and a 2% jump over the previous high in June at $262,500. Single family homes peaked at $268,250 while townhomes/condos hit $255,000.
July marked the 53rd consecutive month of year-over-year price appreciation. However, for ten 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 5% ($252,500) compared to 2022 ($240,000).
Total volume of residential real estate sold hit just under $350 million, a 15% decline over last year’s total of $408 million. On the year, total sales volume surpassed $2.1 billion through the first seven months of the year, down 17% from the 2022 total of $2.6 billion.
“Although prices rose a little more than the previous several months, appreciation remained in the single digits,” said Nisbet. “With interest rates staying elevated, housing affordability has been more of a concern to buyers and has played a larger role in the buying decision recently.”
Homes are selling faster this year with July’s 32 average days on the market (DOM) matching June’s low mark for 2023. However, properties are staying on the market longer than last year with DOM hitting 12 consecutive months of year-over-year increases. DOM are up 88% from last year when homes on the market remained for only 17 days. The median DOM rose 40% year-over-year, from 5 days in July 2022 to 7 days this year.
Interest rates ended July at the highest level of the year with an average of 6.84%, compared to 5.41% last year and up from 6.71% the previous month. Rates have increased each month since April.
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.