In June we saw the first signs of Rutherford County’s housing inventory improving. While we were down -48.29% from last June, we were up month-to-month for the first time since the onset of COVID-19, with Average Daily Inventory up +7.49% from May 2021. Read on for an in-depth look at the local real estate market data.
Listings Contracted, while down from last June, did follow last month’s trend climbing month-to-month. Listings Contracted were up +5.05% from May, but remember for the past couple of years we’ve seen a +15% increase in Contracts month-to-month from May to June. Listings Closed, while down -13.22% from last June, were up significantly +19.79% over May 2021.
Inventory shortage finally showed signs of improvement, with Average Daily Inventory ticking up +7.49% from the previous month, but still down -48.29% from last year. That’s the first time since December 2020 we’ve seen Inventorydown less than -50% YOY. But remember, we saw a +9.63% month-to-month Inventory improvement in April as well, before a -6.63% decline in May, so the trends are currently in flux.
The Inventory of new construction homes appears to be being held up waiting on construction costs to come in before they come on the market, so we should see an influx of Inventory toward the end of summer and early fall, as those costs settle. But while we wait for those listings to enter the market we’re seeing Median List Price continue to rise, up over 20% for the third consecutive month, this time +24.01% over last June, and 3.86% over the prior month.
We appear to finally be seeing buyers push back on price. Where some sellers have become greedy, overpriced homes are beginning to sit as buyers balk at outrageous List Prices. Of Listings Contracted in June, 17% required a price change to get there, while JJRE Listings Closed at an average of 103.5% of List Price, proving that Positioning is superior to Pricing in this market.
Supply seems to have firmly settled in at the record lows we’ve been experiencing across most price ranges. We saw very little movement in Supply month-to-month, with most price ranges holding near where they’ve remained since March. The lone exception was a significant jump back up to 1.59 months supply in the $600-700K range, with 37.7% of listings in that price range being to-be-built or under construction “paper listings.” As we sit today there are currently 221 active home listings in Rutherford County, 37.5% of which are “paper listings.”
Mortgage interest rates dropped month-to-month, though just barely, to 2.98% (30-Yr FRM). We’ve seen rates fluctuate throughout the past two months, as we wait for what seems to be the inevitable rise to 3% and beyond, with most experts projecting rates to creep into the low to mid 3% range by Q4.
If you are a buyer looking to find your new home in this very difficult market, or a seller looking to take advantage John Jones Real Estate’s LOCAL market expertise, please give us a call at 615-867-3020.
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What are “paper listings”?
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Jerry, Paper Listings are what we call properties that are on the market that are not yet completed. Typically this is a residential listing where either the construction is not yet started or completed. So if you purchased a “paper listing” today, you wouldn’t actually be able to move into it for several months because the home only exists “on paper.”