Housing market continues improvment for most part
The region’s housing market continued its improvement in October but low inventory is starting to put some counties into negative territory for properties sold.
According to the latest report on the market from Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, sales in Chester and Montgomery counties were down from October 2016.
Chester County sales declined to 571 from 597, or 4.4 percent, while sales in Montgomery County dipped slightly to 870 in October 2017 from 883 in October 2016, or 1.5 percent.
The two Pennsylvania counties joined two from New Jersey in seeing declines in sales for October in the latest HomeExpert Market Report. Salem County saw a 17 percent dip, from 68 houses to 56 while Mercer County’s sales dropped 2 percent.
“What you’re seeing is the impact of low inventory,” said Steve Storti, chief marketing officer Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, of the counties where sales declined year over year during the month. Days houses are on the market are declining, proof that demand is strong, he added.
“It’s a great time to be selling your house but it’s a tough time to be buying,” Storti said. “You’re really competing because of the lack of inventory.”
Overall in the region, the number of properties sold in the 12-county region, which includes southeast Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and northern Delaware, continued the year-long upward trend in October.
In Pennsylvania 4,131 properties sold, a 3.4 percent increase from October 2016; New Jersey had 2,082 sales, up 15.4 percent; and Delaware showed 785 properties sold in October, up 8.3 percent.
Chester County posted the highest average sale price in October 2017 at $385,049, an increase of 4.9 percent from October 2016, followed by Bucks County ($338,666, up 5.5 percent), and Montgomery County ($307,806 a decrease of 4.4 percent).
In Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County posted the largest percent increase in average sale price in the region, jumping 8.8 percent from $214,015 to $232,949.
Monthly average inventory remains lower than this time last year, down by 13.8 percent, with 39,833 homes on the market in October of 2017, compared to 46,226 during October of 2016.
Average days on the market showed a 23.6 percent decrease from 72 in October of 2016 to 55 days in October of 2017.
October’s results were in line with a report the company put out on the first nine months of the year. Sales in the region increased 7.8 percent compared to the first three quarters of 2016, that report found.
“Home sales continued to increase monthly in 2017,” said Joan Docktor, president, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach Realtors, in the October report, “indicating a steady growth in the real estate market.”