Swelling demand boosts June existing home sales to 8-year high

Sales have jumped 9.6 percent over the past 12 months, while the number of listings has risen just 0.4 percent.

Central Ohio home sales and prices reached record highs during the first half of the year, boosted by a strong economy and low interest rates.

The median price of an existing home rose 6.5 percent from June 2014 to $236,400, the highest on record before adjusting for inflation.

“The demand for buying has really heated up this summer, leading to multiple bidders and homes selling at or above asking price”, said NAR President Chris Polychron, executive broker with 1st Choice Realty in Hot Springs, Ark. The majority of real estate agents in the Atlanta Fed region – which ranges from Alabama to Florida- said that inventories were flat or falling over the past year.

Properties typically stayed on the market for 34 days in June, down from 40 days in May and the shortest time on record, said NAR, which began tracking that data in May 2011.

“Solid sales gains were seen throughout the country in May as more homeowners listed their home for sale and therefore provided greater choices for buyers”, Yun said.

Still, the limited supplies could eventually prove to be a drag on sales growth in the coming months.

The share of first-time buyers fell to 30 percent in June from 32 percent in May. As homes become less affordable, the current demand will likely taper off.

Across the state, the average sale price for a home rose to $171,968, a 4.8 percent increase from a year before.

Some buyers are also bristling at the few available options on the market.

New construction has yet to satisfy rising demand, as builders are increasingly focused on the growing rental market. That’s a 9.6 percent pace increase from June of 2014, according to the national Realtors.

Sales of previously owned homes rose to an annual rate of 5.49 million units, a gain of 3.2 percent from the slightly downwardly revised May level, the NAR reported.

The share of Americans owning homes has fallen this year to a seasonally adjusted 63.8 percent, the lowest level since 1989.

“The housing market is on fire”, said Thomas Costerg, a senior economist at Standard Chartered Bank in New York, who projected sales would rise to a 5.48 million pace. Existing-home sales in the South increased 2.3 percent to an annual rate of 2.20 million in June, and are 7.3 percent above June 2014. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 4.09 percent in the week ended July 16, according to data from Freddie Mac in McLean, Virginia.