HOME SALES IN AUGUST ZOOM!

Existing-home sale closings, including single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops, increased 10.5% YoY (year-over-year) as of the end of August and 2.4% MoM (month-over-month) for August compared to July.  This marks three consecutive months of gains in home sales.  Conclusions regarding these results should be tempered by the fact that the Nation was in lock-down for several months prior and New York also imposed very restrictive rules for marketing and selling homes even after things opened-up a bit in April.

National Association of REALTORS® reported that existing-home sales in each of the four major regions of the U.S. saw month-over-month and annual growth.  Home prices in August climbed 11.4% compared to a year ago, reaching a median of $310,600. Prices rose in every region of the U.S. last month.  The Northeast saw the largest monthly improvement in home sales – making up for lost ground in prior months.  Existing-home sales for the Northeast increased 13.8% in August (MoM) and 5.7% YoY. The median home price was $349,500, up 10.4% YoY.

Housing inventories which have been historically tight, dropped even more with the sales growth, putting upward pressure on home prices. Total housing inventory at the end of August was down 18.6% from last year - a three-month supply.

First-time home buyers accounted for 33% of home sales in August, up 31% from last year.  Investors and second-home buyers accounted for 14% of homes sold in August, equal to a year ago. Investors and second-home buyers tend to make up the biggest bulk of all-cash sales. All-cash sales accounted for 18% of transactions in August, down from 19% in August 2019.

On the North Fork, real estate sales generally slow down after Labor Day, and we are seeing some of that, although it appears that the population this fall has increased. More people staying around our beautiful North Fork will certainly help business owners.

               If you are thinking of selling your home in the near term. Call us at 631 765 5333. Do it now while the weather is good and COVID numbers are low.  Please don’t procrastinate.  Take action now, based on what you know.  None of us can predict the future…we can only pray that the worst is over and hope that things will go back to normal in due time.

Source: National Association of Realtors, Home Sales hit 2006 Levels, ‘Continue to Amaze’, September 22, 2020