Real estate transactions got a summertime boost as interest rates softened in July. Sales rebounded from a slower June to reach 1,276 closings in July, an 11% increase from last year and a 5% jump from the previous month. The number of home transactions in July was the second highest in 2024.
Single-family home sales stood at 1,192, marking a 12% increase over the 1,062 sold in 2023. Townhouse/condo sales decreased by 1% to 84, down from 85 in 2023.
Over the first seven months of the year, sales have eclipsed last year’s totals by less than 1% with 7,493 homes selling in 2024 compared to 7,461 last year.
New construction sales in July rose sharply by 38% year-over-year, with reported sales at 123 versus 89 last year. The monthly total dropped 5% over the previous month.
"It took a while but real estate sales in 2024 have now surpassed where we were this time last year,” said Randy Newsome, president of Bluegrass Realtors®. “Rates are slowly starting to relax, and buyers are taking advantage of the opportunity that exists in market before competition heats back up this Fall.”
Interest rates in July averaged 6.85%, down slightly from 6.92% the previous month but up slightly from 6.84% last year. Rates did, however, drop at the beginning of August to the lowest levels seen in more than a year. And, according to analysts, the Fed is poised to cut interest rates in September which would be the first time since early 2020.
With rates falling and sales picking up, July saw pending transactions push forward 2% compared to last year, with 1,259 properties under contract versus 1,235 in 2023. Homes under contract also improved 3% over last month’s 1,228 properties. July marked the fifth consecutive month with year-over-year increases.
Median home prices remained elevated in July, reaching $275,000, the highest on record for the month. This was up 2% over last year’s mark of $269,100. July’s median, however, receded from the previous month’s all-time high of $289,900, a decrease of 5%. Still, July marked the 65th consecutive month of year-over-year price appreciation.
Single-family homes hit a median of $279,900, a 4% increase from the previous year’s $269,950, while townhomes/condos dropped considerably to $236,000, down 8% from last year’s $255,000.
For the year, overall median prices have risen 8%, reaching $273,000 compared to $252,500 in 2023.
The total volume of real estate sold through the first seven months was just shy of $2.4 billion with $414 million of that coming in July, a 14% increase over last year’s $362 million, and up 2% from the previous month, which was a result to the increase in sales.
"Prices remained higher in July although the appreciation gap was smaller than we’ve seen recently," stated Newsome. “The difference in July’s median price from last year reflects a more typical appreciation that would be expected year to year.”
Rising inventory and new listings could have had an effect on price increases. Housing inventory in July stayed above the 3,000 mark for the second consecutive month, reaching 3,348 properties on the market. This is a 24% improvement over the 2,701 homes available last year and the highest July total in four years. Inventory improved 9% from the previous month. Available properties in Central and Southern Kentucky have increased, year-over-year, for nine consecutive months and month-over-month for six months.
Although new listings slowed from the previous month for the first time since November, properties coming to market still jumped year-over-year. July saw a 5% jump in new listings with 1,650 properties compared to 1,572 last year and have increased annually for six consecutive months. Year-to-date, new listings have increased 6%, to 10,729 this year, up from 10,081 last year.
Months of inventory (MOI) continues to improve through the summer, peaking at 2.6 in July and is the second consecutive monthly increase in 2024. That is 8% higher than last year when the MOI was 2.4. July’s MOI was the highest for the month since 2020 and was a 4% improvement over the previous month.
Newsome continued, "Although we are, statistically, still in a seller’s market, the rise of properties available, both inventory and new listings, is bringing us closer to a balanced market each month. That trend could be stymied, however, if rates drop and sales jump considerably with an increase in buyers entering the market.”
The average time for a home to sell rose to 36 days in July, up from 32 days in June. 36 days was the same amount of time as homes took to sell last year. The median DOM rose, year-over-year, to 11 days from 8 days. Year to date, homes are selling at an average of 40 days, even with 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 38 counties: Anderson, Bath, Bell, Bourbon, Boyle, Casey, Clark, Clay, Elliott, Estill, Fayette, Franklin, Garrard, Harrison, Henry, Jackson, Jessamine, Knox, Laurel, Lee, Lincoln, Madison, McCreary, Menifee, Mercer, Montgomery, Nicholas, Owsley, Powell, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Rowan, Russell, Scott, Shelby, Wayne, Whitley and Woodford counties. Visit www.bluegrassrealtors.com for up-to-the-minute real estate listings and buying and selling resources.