Welcome to another edition of the REALTOR® Report! After two consecutive record-setting months, things cooled off a bit in July. Unit sales were down, as was the median price for Southwest Riverside County. However, I definitely wouldn’t panic or assume the worst yet. Low inventory is still keeping the market competitive, even with the higher interest rates. Many homes continue to generate multiple offers at or above the list price. But it’s not the same as it was just a couple of years ago. While the marketplace is competitive, buyers are not waiving contingencies or gapping sales price vs. appraised value like they were before. While this creates competition for buyers, sellers should not expect crazy offers over list price, as we saw a couple of years ago. It all comes down to working with a knowledgeable REALTOR® and setting realistic expectations.
Last month I reported a pause in the Feds raising interest rates, but that was very short-lived. The Feds bumped the federal rates another 0.25% at the end of July and indicated that there could be further increases this year. The Chief Economist for the National Association of REALTORs® shared his frustration with this recent hike as inflation is steadily calming down, with more deceleration on the way as wages and rents moderate. He offered his forecast for future rates, which I have included on one of my slides.
Let’s take a closer look at the numbers for our region from July 2023.
The median home price in Southwest Riverside County decreased for the first time since January by 6% from the previous month ($580,000/$615,000) and is flat from one year ago ($580,000). Comparing the median price to where it was 2 years ago, it has increased by 5.5% when the median price was $550,000. Unsold inventory remained at 3 months (6 months is considered a healthy market), and the median time on the market was flat, remaining at just 12 days. This is down from 14 days last year and significantly higher than 2 years ago when it was just 6 days. Unit sales dropped by 18% from last month and are down 12% from last year. Unsold inventory increased from the previous month by 9% but is significantly down from last year, with a decrease of 40%. Median prices remained relatively flat in our local cities, with a total median price variance from -6.0% to 6.8%.
Our Chief Economist continues to forecast a dip in home sales (resale and new construction) but believes it will bottom out at year-end, with sales picking back up in 2024.
As for a legislative update, we’re at the tail end of the summer recess, so there is nothing new to report. However, there are still a lot of bills that need to be addressed. Our elected officials, lobbyists, and my colleagues will be very busy all the way to the September 14 deadline for each house to pass bills.
It’s a fairly light report this month, and with the busy schedule ahead, I’m not complaining. If there is something that I may have addressed before that you need specific updates on, please feel free to contact me.
I hope I have covered everything that affects you and your business. Please let me know if I left anything out or if you need anything explained further.
If you’d like a copy of my entire report including the mentioned slides, or to be added to the distribution list, please email me at adam@srcar.org.
As always, I am available if you have any questions about the report. Until next month…