The number of residential home transactions hit 1,129 in April, a rise of 8% over last year’s 1,046. This is the first time since May 2022 that home sales increased year-over-year. April sales were also up 16% from the previous month, with 972 sales recorded last year.
Single-family home sales stood at 1,055, marking an 8% jump over the 979 sold in 2023. Townhouse/condo sales increased by 10% to 74, up from 67 in 2023.
For the year, homes sales are down 4% overall with 3,628 transactions in the first four months of 2024 compared to 3,773 in 2023.
New construction sales in April surged to the highest level in over a year with a 31% increase year-over-year, with April showing 135 sales versus 103 last year and jumped 15% from 117 the previous month.
"With pending sales on the rise, it was only a matter of time until those transactions closed," said Randy Newsome, president of Bluegrass Realtors®. “Buyers are active in the market as housing equity continues to accumulate and they are looking to purchase before competition heats back up later this year.”
Pending sales in April rose 2% with 1,309 properties under contract compared to 1,289 last year and climbed 1% from the previous month’s total of 1,294. The April figure was the highest monthly tally since August 2022.
New listings to the market were up 12% in April, with 1,627 properties in the Central and Southern Kentucky region versus 1,452 last year. New properties coming online were also 9% higher than the previous month’s total of 1,488 homes and the highest total since June last year. Year-to-date, new listings increased from 5,226 in 2023 to 5,516 this year, a rise of 6%.
With the increase in listings, the overall housing inventory improved 12% year-over-year with 2,683 homes on the market in April compared to 2,394 last year and up 1% from March. Inventory levels have increased, year-over-year, for six consecutive months.
Months of inventory (MOI) at 2.4 tracked higher than the previous year of 2.2, a 9% jump, but dropped from March’s 2.7 as total sales picked up in April, taking homes off the market. The month’s MOI was the highest for April since 2020.
Newsome continued, "Any improvement in inventory is good for the market as buyers need more selection during what is typically the hot buying season. And an increase in supply will help temper the rapid price appreciation the market has seen so far this year.”
Price appreciation stayed in the double-digits for the first quarter of the year, however, April saw a slight slowdown with a 6% increase year-over-year, with the median price topping $265,000 in 2024, up from $250,000 in 2023. The April median was the highest ever for the month and marked the 62nd consecutive month of year-over-year price appreciation. The April median was 2% lower than the previous month, which stood at $269,900 and is the highest median ever recorded.
Single-family homes hit a peak of $267,250 in April, a 7% increase from the previous year, while townhomes/condos unexpectedly dropped 3%, moving down to $225,000 in 2024.
For the year, overall median prices have risen 8%, reaching $265,000 compared to $245,000 in 2023.
The total volume of real estate sold through the first four months of the year surpassed just over $1 billion with $336,302,865 of that coming in April, a 13% jump over last April and tallied the same 13% increase from the previous month.
Homes sold faster in April than the previous month, with the average time to sell at 42 days this month versus 50 days last month, a decline of 16%. However, 42 days was the same amount of time it took the average home to sell last year. The median DOM rose, year-over-year, to 12 days from 10 days. Year to date, homes are selling at an average of 45 days, even with last year.
"The market is starting to heat back up despite interest rates still hanging around the 7% mark,” Newsome concluded. “Many buyers and sellers have delayed housing plans longer than they wanted, waiting for rates to move. Now they are making moves because they don’t want to put off possible equity gains in a home knowing they can refinance into a lower payment later if rates come down."
Interest rates in March averaged 6.99%, up slightly from 6.82% the previous month and 6.34% the previous year. The rate was the highest it’s been since November 2023 and the highest April rate since 2002. Experts have revised predictions for 2024 saying mortgage rates will stay higher for longer and the Fed may delay cutting its rate until late in the year, if it decides to lower it at all.
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.