Kansas City Metropolitan Housing Statistics for May 2010

MAY HOUSING MARKET STATISTICS

The Homebuyer Tax Credit extension will continue to impact the market, and this is borne out by the May market report. April saw a flurry of sales activity, as contracts needed to be ‘signed, sealed and delivered' by April 30th in order for buyers to qualify for the tax credit. While Congress is considering extending the June 30th deadline for those sales to close, the current legislation says those sales need to close by June 30th. As a result, watch for May and June closed sales activity to be high compared to previous years and previous months. We'll await the July sales activity report to see what type of downturn results from the end of the tax credit. REALTORS® have reported a decrease in buyers looking at properties and writing contracts during the month of May and that will most likely translate into a decrease in reported sales beginning in July. Only time will tell how long the ‘hangover' will last, but the National Association of REALTORS® 'pending sales' report will give us a view to that answer in the near future.

The average new home price this month is nearly the same as one year ago, and the average existing home price is up 5% from one year ago. The average price for combined (new and existing) homes in the region is 3% higher than May 2009.

New home sales increased 3%, existing home sales increased 28%, and combined total sales were up 25% over last year. This represents a 20% increase in new home sales, 8% increase in existing home sales and a combined total sales increase of 9% from last month.

New home inventory remains the same as last month and is 39% lower than last year. Resale inventory is 3% higher than a month ago and is 9% higher than it was last year. New and existing inventory combined is 3% higher than last month, which represents a 1% increase in total inventory over last year.

Supply for combined new and existing homes remained almost the same at 7.5 month's supply in May from a 7.4 month's supply in April. The existing home supply remained unchanged this month at 7.4 months which is the same as last month. The new homes supply in May 2010 was 8.3 months, again the same as April.

The good news is that supply has continued to decline and is lower than May 2009. Although there is a slight buyer's edge present in the new homes market, the existing home and combined totals are nearing a balanced market!

Generally speaking, a 5-6 month supply of homes on the market is a balanced market. When supply exceeds 6 months, the market begins to favor buyers and when the supply is less than 5 months, the market tends to favor sellers.

Source: Kansas City Regional Association of REALTORS and Heartland Multiple Listing Service

Copyright 2010. KCRAR is the "Voice for Real Estate in the Kansas City Area"

MARKET COMMENTARY FOR MAY 2010

MARKET STATISTICS FOR MAY 2010

Should you want market statistics for your neighborhood, contact Ron Mowery, Real Estate Professional at (913) 269-0479 or email him at Ron@JoCoHomesOnline.