Lots happening out there, still lots of homes getting sold.  But, is it a seller’s market?  Is it a buyer’s market?  It depends on price range, location, condition.. . Most sales occur under $250,000.  Well location homes in good condition priced sub-$250k can see multiple offers.   Higher priced homes, as well as those not so “centrally located” can experience a delay in selling and often necessitate getting conservative with pricing expectations.

Below is a concise wrap up of the state of the market according to Cromford Report:

Market Summary for the Beginning of August

July behaved very much as expected. Sales were about 9% lower than June but remained a lot stronger than July last year – up almost 16%

Overall demand remains close to normal with little signs of significant change. Supply has dropped only slightly from last month but remains well below normal. With this situation, the Cromford® Market Index started to stabilize around the 145 mark at the beginning of August.

Here are the basic ARMLS numbers for August 1, 2015 relative to August 1, 2014 for all areas & types:

• Active Listings (excluding UCB): 19,459 versus 23,900 last year – down 18.6% – and down 0.5% from 19,548 last month
• Active Listings (including UCB): 22,837 versus 26,887 last year – down 15.1% – and down 1.9% compared with 23,288 last month
• Pending Listings: 6,327 versus 6,079 last year – up 4.1% – but down 9.7% from 7,007 last month
• Under Contract Listings (including Pending & UCB): 9,705 versus 9,066 last year – up 7.0% – but down 9.7% from 10,747 last month
• Monthly Sales: 7,942 versus 6,858 last year – up 15.8% – and down 8.7% from 8,700 last month
• Monthly Average Sales Price per Sq. Ft.: $132.96 versus $126.53 last year – up 5.1% – but down 2.2% from $135.97 last month
• Monthly Median Sales Price: $211,750 versus $196,000 last year – up 8.0% – and down 1.5% from $215,000 last month

Following the usual seasonal pattern, average and median pricing weakened during July. The monthly median sales price now stands 8% higher than last year while the monthly average price per square foot has gained just over 5% in the last 12 months.

With not a lot of change to report, the main points of interest are local differences in active listing counts which are rising in some areas while falling in others. For the price ranges, the biggest losers of single family active listings over the last month were:

1. Under $25K -57%
2. $2M-$3M -16%
3. $800K-$1M -12%
4. $125K-$150K -12%
5. $1.5-$2M -11%

Price ranges which saw a growth in single family active listings were:

1. $25K-$50K +9%
2. $250K-$275K +6%
3. $50K-$75K +3%
4. $350K-$400K +3%
5. $175K-$200K +3%
6. $275K-$300K +2%
7. $150K-$175K +1%

These are minor changes, but overall it suggests we may see a little more supply over the next few months for the popular ranges between $150,000 and $400,000. This may in turn bring a little welcome relief for the average buyer and stop the market getting even more favorable for sellers.

*** from The Cromford Report, 8/3/2015