The Olympics are finally here. We have all seen some inspiring performances throughout the events. Who can forget some of the greatest moments by Jesse Owens, Mary Lou Retton, Carl Lewis, and Michael Phelps? Each delivered gold medal performances and graced the front of the iconic Wheaties cereal box as a result.
Here at home, our real estate market continues to perform very well. In our last newsletter, we shared that previous records in pending home sales were shattered in the first quarter. Well, buyers in the second quarter smashed previous records, too.
Pending home sales in April through June achieved levels never before seen in our market. Each month had more than 600 sales, with an average of 618. The previous best for any of those months was set in May 2015, when we had 545 sales. Buyers continue to rush back to the market.
Even with a six-year high in number of homes coming on the market, the amount of buyers is still outpacing new sellers. This has driven home prices higher over the past year. With prices of non-distressed properties up 10.7% over the past year, home prices are nearly back to top levels.
These conditions have buyers acting faster than ever. Well-priced homes – those that did not require a price reduction before receiving an acceptable offer – are going under contract in an average of just 13 days. That pace is unheard of in our market. It is more than a month faster than in 2006, which was the last peak of sales activity in our market.
This combination of forces should continue to move prices solidly upward over the next 18-24 months. With our market delivering such a winning performance, do you think Wheaties might place our community on the cover of its next cereal box?
