Pennsylvania Home Sales Up 11% in August

We saw an uptick in the number of home sales in Pennsylvania in August. The total number of sales rose 11% from July to August to nearly 11,700 sales, according to a report prepared for the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors®. However, the total number of sales is down 17% compared to the same time last year.

I know many of your markets experienced a shift in summer sales as well. The summer real estate market has remained strong for home sales, where in past years, we may have seen a slight decrease in the last months of summer.

The uptick in sales last month was a welcome change, however, consumers continue to face a tight market inventory. There are simply not enough homes on the market to meet demand, particularly in the starter home price range.

We all know it’s a situation real estate markets across Pennsylvania and the country are experiencing for a number of reasons. The housing industry has underbuilt for more than a decade and isn’t able to meet the growing demand. We have many millennials entering the homebuying phase of their lives, and older homeowners are remaining in their homes longer.

Many homeowners took advantage of historically low interest rates and locked into low fixed-rate mortgages when they purchased or refinanced their homes over the past few years. Today, those same homeowners have to weigh their existing low rates against the significantly higher rates they would incur in a “trade-up” home purchase. Entry-level housing sales depend on these trade-up purchases to make housing inventory available to first-time buyers. Many of those trade-ups aren’t taking place as a result of the interest rate differential in the trade-up market.

The median home sale price decreased slightly in August to $223,131 from $225,278 in July.

Home prices in Pennsylvania have remained strong and are up about 5% over last year. These strong prices show that owning a home continues to be a great long-term investment to help build wealth.

As professionals we work alongside our clients providing our knowledge and experience to help them increase their chances of finding the right home in today’s market. Our local market expertise and negotiation skills help ensure our clients get the best possible price and terms and we protect their interests during the transaction.