Final Look at Local Housing Markets in August

Inventory Up, Sales Down Sharply, New Listings Decline

The big story for August existing home sales was the sharp year-over-year (YoY) decline in sales. Another key story was that new listings were down YoY in August as the sellers’ strike continued. And active listings were up. Also, median prices are falling nationally (more than normal seasonally).

This is the final look at local markets in August. I’m tracking about 35 local housing markets in the US. Some of the 35 markets are states, and some are metropolitan areas. I update these tables throughout the month as additional data is released.

Active Inventory in August

Here is a summary of active listings for these housing markets in August.

Inventory in these markets were down 32% YoY in January, down 12% YoY in April, and are now up 25% YoY! So, this is a significant change from earlier this year, but about the same YoY increase as in July (up 26% YoY).

The YoY increase in inventory was pulled down by a few markets with inventory down YoY like New York and Illinois.

Note that active inventory in some previous hot markets like Austin (168%), Las Vegas (149%) and Phoenix (159%) are up triple digits YoY.

Notes for all tables:

1. New additions to table in BOLD.

2. Northwest (Seattle), Santa Clara (San Jose), Jacksonville, Source: Northeast Florida Association of REALTORS®

3. Totals do not include Atlanta, Denver, or Minneapolis (included in state totals)

   

New Listings in August

And here is a table for new listings in August. For these areas, new listings were down 11.3% YoY. The sellers’ strike has slowed the increase in active inventory.

Last month, new listings in these markets were down 7.8% YoY.

Closed Sales in August

And a table of August sales. In August, sales in these markets were down 18.7% YoY. The NAR reported sales were down 17.4% NSA YoY. Contracts for sales in August were mostly signed in June and July, and we are seeing the impact of higher mortgage rates on August closings.

Here is a table comparing the year-over-year Not Seasonally Adjusted (NSA) declines in sales this year from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) with the local markets I track. So far, these measures have tracked closely.

Looking ahead: In September 2022, there were the same number of working days as in September 2021, so the SA and NSA declines in sales will be similar.

Sales in some of the hottest markets are down around 30% YoY (all of California was down 24%), whereas in other markets, sales are only down in the teens YoY.

More local data coming in October for activity in September!