Somehow we have already passed the Forth of July and we are officially in the middle of the summer market. Typically, we see a bit of a slowdown in home sales through the heat of the summer but talk of rising interest rates and high inflation are impacting the market as well. Grab a cold drink and let’s dive into the numbers from this month…
For the first time this year, the average sales price has started to plateau. We have been seeing massive increases each month, even through the winter but in June the average sales price increased by only .04%. Granted, homes prices are still much higher than they were over the last few years but it appears that the large appreciation we have been seeing has started to slowdown.
The other metric to keep an eye on is the number of new listings that are hitting the market. With the rising interest rates, many home sellers have assumed we have passed the peak of multiple offers and high prices and have started listing their homes, maybe a bit sooner than they planned. This is good news for buyers – more options and less competition for each home!
Finally, we will take a look at the average percent of list price. While our MLS does not track multiple offers received, this metric was helpful when watching the competition for each home. The more offers a home was receiving, generally, the higher above list price the home would sell for. Now that more homes are coming onto the market, the percentage that are selling over the list price is slowly decreasing. It is important to note though that the average is still at 106.5%. We are expecting to continue to see this number fall but this data shows that there are plenty of homes that are still in high demand and escalating over the asking price.
While we are seeing competition slow just a bit, unfortunately the higher interest rates are affecting buyer’s purchasing power more than anything else. The Fed has made it no secret that they plan to continue to raise the Federal Funds rate this year to try and curb inflation. If you have been waiting to buy a home, now is the time to reach out to your lender to discuss options of locking in rates and discuss with your agent possible ways to have sellers help buy down your interest rate. If you need recommendations for lenders who will work hard to make it work for you, just send me a message and I am happy to connect you!
This data was collected from the CVR MLS for the Richmond Metro area, and is based on single family homes in all price ranges.
