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Tag: Pennsylvania Association of Realtors

Low inventory continues to plague Pa. housing market

Persistent low inventory continues to affect homebuyers’ ability to purchase a home in Pennsylvania. The number of listings remained about the same in July compared to June of this year; however, total listings are down nearly 28% compared to July last year, according to the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors.  

There were 35,860 listings on the market in the state last month. 

 “Low housing inventory has become a defining characteristic of the real estate market,” said PAR President Al Perry. “The ongoing shortage of homes available continues to put pressure on the housing market and as demand remains strong, buyers often find themselves competing for homes.” 

The median home sales price remained steady at $225,278 in July. That’s up 2% from the same time last year. 

“Home prices remain strong throughout most markets in Pennsylvania. We saw about a 2% decrease in the median price between June and July, which indicates that home prices are remaining reasonably consistent,” Perry said. 

 The number of homes sold in July fell compared to June, which Perry said is consistent with the seasonality of the market cycle. He said limited inventory is clearly affecting sales as compared to this time last year. 

“Sales are down about 21% in July compared to the same period last year. We’re still seeing robust interest from consumers looking to purchase a home; however, there are limited homes on the market to meet the demand,” he said. 

Pa. home prices hit record high

Home prices in Pennsylvania have hit a record high. 

The Pennsylvania Association of Realtors is reporting that the median sales price reached $229,004 in June, up 4% from May and up 5.5% from June 2022. 

It’s a similar story nationally where home prices hit their second highest price ever at $410,200. 

 “Pennsylvania’s overall housing market continues to see an increase in prices, however, it’s worth noting that the market is complex and can vary across the commonwealth,” said PAR President Al Perry. “While a majority of markets throughout Pennsylvania are seeing price increases, other areas may see price stabilization or even moderate declines.” 

Sales jumped 12% in June over May, hitting 12,383.  

Sales, however, are down 19.5% from last year. Listings dropped slightly in June compared to May and are down 27.5% from 2022. 

 “Lack of inventory is one of the greatest challenges in the market currently for a number of reasons,” Perry said. “The industry has underbuilt for about a decade; we have a large number of millennials looking to establish a home and homeowners who have a low mortgage rate are staying in their homes.” 

 

Sales and prices up in state housing market

Housing prices are heading back up in Pennsylvania. 

The median home price in the state spiked $9,000 in may hitting $219,811, according to the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors. 

 “The median sales price in May is higher than the peak price we saw last year,” said PAR President Al Perry. “We’ve continued to see the median price increase each month since January, with a 4% bump in May.” 

May home sales increased over April, with 10,967 sales. However, compared to the same time last year, sales are down more than 17%. 

The good news in a tight housing market is that the state did see a slight increase in the number of listings in May with 36,146 homes on the market, however that’s 23% lower compared to May 2022. 

“The housing market continues to grapple with an inventory shortage. We have robust demand from homebuyers, along with rising prices, making it a challenging environment for many homebuyers,” Perry said. 

Housing prices up, sales down across Pennsylvania

Housing prices continue to surge across the state. 

According to the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors, the median sales price has been going up consistently since January, hitting $210,453 in April. 

That’s up around 7.5% since the beginning of the year and is 2.5% higher year over year. 

“Spring is traditionally considered a favorable time to buy a home with milder weather making it easier for potential buyers to view properties and explore neighborhoods,” said PAR President Al Perry. “Many families prefer to move during the summer months while school is out.” 

One bit of good news, among struggles with low housing inventory in the state, the number of listings increased around 6% in April to 35,458. 

However, housing inventory is still down nearly 20% compared to April of last year. 

 “Despite various challenges in the housing market, there’s a continued strong demand from homebuyers, showing their desire for homeownership,” Perry said. “Many markets are seeing multiple offers on well-priced properties.” 

While inventory ticked up, home sales were down slightly from the previous month to just over 9,000 and are around 25% less than at the same time last year.

Median home prices in Pa. surpass $200,000 in March

In Pennsylvania, the median home sales price rose 2% in March from the month before, eclipsing $200,000, according to a report prepared for the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors.

The median sales price of $200,787 was also about 2% higher than it was the same time last year. The number of homes sold of 9,744 was more than the previous month, but down 17.5% year over year.

Nationally, total existing-home sales – completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – fell 2.4% from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.44 million in March. Year-over-year, sales waned 22% (down from 5.69 million in March 2022).

“We’ve continued to see a steady demand in the housing market throughout the state despite the higher interest rates we’ve seen over the past year,” Pennsylvania Association of Realtors President Al Perry said in a release. “With the recent mortgage rate decreases in the past several weeks, current buyers will see a savings on their monthly payments.”

Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtors’ chief economist, has said that the recent mortgage interest rate decline would save buyers about $140 per month on a $300,000 loan.

“The number of listings was up slightly in March over February, but we continue to see significantly fewer listings compared to last year,” Perry added. “We’re down about 20% over the same time last year, which has resulted in fewer sales this year. And listings are down about 58% since March 2020.”

There’s 2.88 months of inventory to sell. As anything below six months is considered a seller’s market, the state’s residential real estate market is still very much in that territory.

Home sales slow in Pennsylvania

While home sales are down slightly over last year in Pennsylvania, the housing market remained fairly steady in February from January, according to the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors. 

“January and February reflected similar numbers across the board,” said PAR President Al Perry. “The number of listings on the market was down about 17% in February with just over 31,000, compared to the same time in 2022, while in January, listings were down about 16%. These challenging inventory conditions are commonplace across many markets.” 

The number of homes sold was down in February, compared to the previous year. “As a result of the tight inventory situation and higher interest rates, we’re seeing sales numbers about 21% lower than the year before,” Perry said. “There’s a bit of a balancing of the market over the past several months between buyers and sellers. Interested buyers are finding there’s more room for negotiations than there was a year ago.” 

The median home sales price rose slightly in February to $199,678, compared to $195,123 in January. “The median price was up about 7% compared to the same time in 2022,” he said. 

  

 

January home sales drop across Pennsylvania

Housing sales in Pennsylvania were down dramatically at the start of the year. 

The state’s housing market saw a 27% decline in the number of sales in January, according to the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors.  

The number of sales was just under 7,000, compared to 9,176 in December. 

Comparatively, the National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales across the country slipped 0.7% from December 2022 and 36.9% from the previous year. 

 “The real estate market traditionally has seen fewer sales in the winter months. Sales are down about 30% from the same time last year, however that’s due to a number of reasons,” said PAR President Al Perry. “We’ve continued to see a declining number of homes on the market and interest rates are around 6%.” 

PAR reports that the number of listings in January was 30,513, down 16.5% from last year. 

“The number of listings has continued to drop over the past several years and there are currently about 28,000 fewer homes on the market than in January 2020,” Perry said. 

Home prices remained relatively steady, Parry said. The median sales price of homes sold was $195,123 in January, up 2.5% year over year. 

“There’s still strong consumer interest in buying a home and strategically priced homes are selling fairly quickly,” he said. 

Pennsylvania Association of Realtors names 2023 president

Al Perry, a second-generation Realtor has been sworn in as the 100th president of the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors. 

Perry is a managing partner of Century 21 Advantage Gold in Philadelphia and has worked in the industry for more than 26 years. 

 “I’m honored to represent our 39,000 members this year. The Pennsylvania Association of Realtors has a long history of championing homeownership and private property rights in the commonwealth,” Perry said. 

Meanwhile, Preston Moore will serve as PAR’s president-elect this year. Moore is a sales associate with Howard Hanna Real Estate Services in the Pittsburgh area. He has been a Realtor for nearly 20 years.   

Christopher Beadling is the immediate past president of the association. He is the vice president and broker of record for Quinn & Wilso, Inc. Realtors in Montgomery County. 

Pa. home prices rise, but still short of 2022 record

It’s getting a little more expensive to buy a house in Pennsylvania, depending on what you compare it to. 

The Pennsylvania Association of Realtors is reporting that median home sale prices rose slightly in October to $210,132. That’s up 9.5% over October of last year, however it’s still down from this year’s high of $219,154, which was set in July. 

The PAR also reported that the number of existing home sales fell again last month to 10,702 in Pennsylvania, down 23% year over year.  

“With the continued limited inventory, we’re still seeing home prices hold steady and even increase slightly as we did last month,” said PAR President Christopher Beadling. “The number of sales has leveled out with the higher interest rates. These higher rates are primarily affecting first-time buyers who need a mortgage. While higher interest rates have resulted in fewer offers on homes, there are still people who need to purchase a home.” 

The number of listings declined again to 38,498, down 23.5% year over year. 

 “When we look back, the number of listings on the market are down more than 60% compared to five years ago,” Beadling noted. “The inventory challenge has kept prices up in most markets, not only in the commonwealth but across the country.” 

He said the PAR is seeing homes on the market a little longer than earlier this year, but Realtors are still seeing multiple offers on homes. 

 “But the market is definitely changing,” he said. 

Pa. Home sales drop nearly 5%

The temperature is falling and so are home sales. 

The Pennsylvania Association of Realtors said August home sales dropped 4.7% from July, the first over month drop since February. 

“The demand is still there,” said Christopher Beadling, PAR president. “That demand is just more tempered. 

Meanwhile, the PAR said the median existing home sale price in August was $209,794 in August, which is 5% higher than August of last year, but down 4.7% from July’s record high of $219,154. 

“Prices are coming back down to reality,” Beadling said. “What we’re seeing is some owners are seeing that they what the market can bear, not just what they think they can get.” 

The number of listings was down in August, with 40,809 reported, a decrease from 43,275 the previous month and down 22.3% from the previous year. 

Pennsylvania continues to see about a three-month inventory of homes, which is down 16% from the previous year. 

Beadling said the decrease in home sales is due in part to the lower inventory, but he said the increase in interest rates, which are now above 6%, is also having an impact. 

“I don’t think it’s having a crushing effect,” he said. “But it is maybe making people have conversations with their Realtor.” 

 

Pennsylvania housing prices continue to increase

Prices may be falling slightly at the pump, but there’s been no relief in housing prices. 

The Pennsylvania median home sales price hit $216,187 in June, up about $5,000 from May, according to a report prepared for the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors. The price is also up 6.2% compared to the same time last year. 

“Median home sales prices are climbing in local markets throughout the commonwealth, with some areas marking record highs,” said PAR President Christopher Beadling. “This continues to be a supply-and-demand issue. With listings down about 23% from last year, prices are going up because there’s still a demand for homes.” 

The number of homes sold in June is up compared to May, with 14,182 properties sold, which is down 16% year over year. 

 Rising mortgage rates have had some effect on what properties buyers may be able to afford, Beadling noted. 

 “We’re still seeing multiple offers on properties, but not as many that are 10% or more over asking. The inventory supply is just under three months, which means we’re still not in a balanced market and demand is exceeding what’s available,” he said. “Navigating this market is challenging. Consumers who want to purchase a home should find a real estate professional, evaluate their home needs, get preapproved for a mortgage, make the best offer and have patience.”  

 

Pa. home prices up nearly 13% over 2021

The median home sales price in the state jumped again in May, according to a report prepared for the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors.  

The median price of all homes sold in Pennsylvania last month was $211,192, compared to $204,274 in April and up 12.8% over the same time last year. 

 “The real estate market across Pennsylvania is robust. Like much of the country, we’re seeing prices hit record highs,” said PAR President Christopher Beadling. 

“We’ve seen a gradual increase in the number of listings from January to May this year,” he said. “While that’s great news for buyers, we’re still down 25.5% from the same time last year. That continues to be a challenge for homebuyers entering the market with just under three months of inventory available. Usually, six months is considered a balanced market.” 

The number of listings in May was 38,974, compared to 31,550 in January.  

 “Pennsylvania also saw an increase in the number of sales last month, unlike much of the country where existing-home sales fell the last several months,” Beadling said. “Those selling their homes are continuing to see multiple offers, however that has slowed somewhat with the higher mortgage rates.” 

There were 12,550 home sales in May, compared to 11,373 in April. Sales were down 7.4% compared to last year.