MARKET CLEANUP IS HAPPENING
The third quarter of 2023 finished very much as predicted. The housing market continues to rebalance. Overall, 2023 has consistently shown us that supply, demand, buyers, sellers, mortgage rates (and builders themselves) are positioning themselves in a way that is sustainable in our current economy. As stated in our February blog, the market is cleaning itself up. Third quarter of this year trended on par with expectations. Q3 ended by showing total inventory available at just a slight increase, at a 2.8 month supply.
ACTIVE INVENTORY
Inventory movement on the market is creeping upward compared to the pandemic years. But total inventory remains significantly lower than 2017-2019 (the most recent “normal” years we have seen). Also, new construction inventory is still fairly close to aligning with 2017-2019 numbers.
When comparing Q3 of 2023 to the most recent QUARTERS, total inventory has slightly increased. New construction spec(ulative) listings make up 51% of the market listings. Total active single family homes for sale was at 1,837 in Q3.
PENDING INVENTORY
Total homes pending in Q3 were down by 171 homes for a total of 1,015. New construction pending inventory of single family homes was also down, closing at 323 homes versus 344 a year ago, to date.
SOLD INVENTORY
Rebalancing efforts are even more evident when looking at sold inventory data. So far this year, 6,196 home sales have closed. Of those, 23% were new construction. Compared to last year, resales are down by 1,143 homes and new construction sold homes are down by 319. In summary, total sales this year are lower than a normal year but new construction sales themselves are higher.
Looking forward to Q4 of 2023, all signs indicate the market will continue to rebalance itself. If interest rates continue to come down and stabalize, spring of 2024 looks to be promising. In the meantime, supply and demand will continue their fierce battle to level out the housing market.
