Construction and Housing: Home Sales
Source: Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors
The overall average home sales price dropped in July to $157,488 ($331,567 for new and $157,488 for existing). This is an decrease of over $7,000 from one year earlier and a drop of over $4,000 from just one month ago. We are undoubtedly seeing the after-effects of the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Program. Thousands of homes were purchased to take advantage of the tax credits that were available this spring. This accellerated home buying activity but now that the program is over we are seeing a drop off.
Source: Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors
The drop of in sales activity is very evident in the Home Sales by Month chart. After peaking in May at 2878, home sales dropped dramatically to 1639 in July.
Source: Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors
Inventory increased slightly in July to 17,492. Of the total inventory, 91 percent are re-sale homes. One year earlier just 83 percent of the homes were re-sale. This is a result of the stark decline in new home construction.
Source: Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors
The supply is calculated by taking the inventory and dividing that by the 12 months sales average. So on average, one could expect a home to be on the market for 8.1 months (8.2 for new and 8.1 for existing). This is still indicative of a buyers market, but it appears things are improving somewhat. With increased sales and flattening inventory, the amount of time it takes for homes to sell should begin to decline.
