Home sales were down in June of 2019 from June 2018 nationwide but by how much varies by location. In the Metro area, year over year home sales were down by 2% and were down by 4.5% in St. Paul. Nationally home sales were down 2.2% in June of 2019 from June 2018.
Locally the inventory of homes on the market has been pretty steady at about a two month supply while nationally there is a 4.4% supply. The numbers may seem small but when I work with home buyers I can actually feel the difference between a 2 month supply of houses and a 4 month supply. In a balanced housing market, there is a six month supply of housing. We remain in a strong seller’s market.
If you are planning to buy or sell real estate this year the local numbers are the ones to watch.
There are still more home buyers than home sellers. I think the trend will gradually ease up over the next decade or so as older generations reach their peak home selling years. Some experts are predicting a great real estate sell-off as baby boomers age. I think a gradual sell-off is more likely considering the 19 years age range of baby boomers.
Here is an infographic with the national existing home sale data for June 2019.
