DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – The Dayton Area Board of Realtors says home sales in the Dayton region saw more gains in August.
The sale of home and condominiums saw a rise in sale prices as well as the number of homes sold over the 2014 figures.
August’s average sales price totaled $145,872, exceeding last year’s monthly figure by two percent. That number couldn’t quite match last month’s high-water mark, but it was still the highest posted August average sales price on record. Meanwhile, the median price saw a small decrease to $124,000, down three percent from last year.
The 1,384 sales for August, up fourteen percent, produced a cumulative sales volume of over $201.8 million, a jump of sixteen percent from last year.
August’s showing also continued to improve the year-to-date numbers. The January-August average sales price increased six percent to $141,804, while the median price ticked up 4.3 percent to $120,000. The cumulative sales price also leaped ahead by nineteen percent to $1.3 billion.
Although tight inventory continues in the Dayton area, listings submitted in the month of August increased over three percent to 2,074 entries. For the January-August period, 16,288 listings were entered, up from last year’s 15,786 listings.
The overall active MLS single-family and condominium inventory of available listings at the end of August stood at 5,991 and represented a 4.3 months’ supply of listings based on August’s resale rate.
Meanwhile, U.S. home sales slid in August by the most since January as tight supplies and rising prices discouraged potential buyers.
The National Association of Realtors said Monday that sales of existing homes fell 4.8 percent from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.31 million, the lowest level since April. That’s down from 5.58 million in July, which was the highest in more than eight years.
Solid job growth and low mortgage rates have boosted sales 6.2 percent in the past year. But the median home price has increased 4.7 percent during that time, more than double the increase in average hourly pay. That is likely pushing more homes out of reach for many buyers.
Americans looking to purchase a home also have fewer to choose from: The number of available homes has fallen 1.7 percent in the past 12 months to just 2.29 million. That is equivalent to 5.2 months of supply at the current sales pace, below the six months that is typical of a balanced market.
The competition among buyers also pushes prices higher.
Sales fell in the South and West, areas with the steepest price appreciation. Sales were unchanged in the Northeast, where price gains were smallest. They slipped in the Midwest.
Home sales may remain steady in the coming months because Federal Reserve policymakers last Thursday decided against raising the short-term interest rate they control. The Fed has held its benchmark rate at nearly zero since December 2008 in an effort to spur more borrowing and spending.
That has kept mortgage rates quite low for most of the six years since the recession. The rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage averaged just 3.9 percent nationwide last week, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. Home sales had plunged to an annual rate of just 4 million when the Fed pegged its rate to zero.
Still, it’s not clear that a rate hike by the Fed — which may come at its next meetings in either October or December — will have that great an impact on sales, at least in the short run.
The Fed’s moves only have an indirect impact on mortgage rates, which tend to follow the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. That yield is heavily influenced by overseas demand. Many international investors consider Treasurys a safe haven, and steady buying from overseas will likely keep the 10-year yield, and mortgage rates, low even when the Fed does start to lift off.
Nela Richardson, chief economist at real estate broker Redfin, says most home buyers aren’t likely to be deterred by a small increase in mortgage rates. More buyers are worried about qualifying for a mortgage to begin with.
“People are not that concerned that a rate hike will torpedo their plans to buy a house,” Richardson said.