MONTHLY MARKET UPDATES
Monthly Market Update
John Lewis - February 2015
The month of January in the Detroit metropolitan area followed the pattern we had expected with written contracts up 18% over January 2014. Much of the jump was weather-related. Last January written contracts were off 18%, so the better weather this winter (relatively speaking) brought sales back to a normal level. Compared to January 2013, written contracts were off by 3% (2013 was the peak release of buyer demand). The rise of written contacts indicates that the market is still strong, but not as wild as the stats show (this will be true for February and March, too).
Monthly Market Update
John Lewis - January 2015
The overall market in December continued the trend of sales growth for the second half of 2014, but at a slower rate. December’s new sales contracts picked up in all price ranges after a lull in November. For Sale inventories continue to fall in the under $250,000 category, while rising in all price ranges above $250,000. New listings entering the market are following that same trend. Price per square foot went up over 8% for the under $250,000 market compared to last December, while the values of the over $250,000 market are coming in at under 3%.
Monthly Market Update
John Lewis - December 2014
There were no dramatic changes for the housing market in November and the first part of December. Home values continue to rise in excess of 6%, slowing a bit from a pace that was higher than 10% earlier this year. The number of homes for sale continues to rise giving buyers some relief from inventory shortages. The Month's Supply of Inventory (MSI) remained about the same as last November. New contracts written have been up the last 90 days while closed sales have actually fallen. Though new contract data is less reliable than sold data, we remain optimistic that there is a
backlog of sales waiting to close in the next 60 days. The slower sale pace does reinforce our feeling that the market is settling down to a more normal pace, especially in the over $500,000 segments. With buyers spread out among more listings, many sellers will feel that the market is slower than it really is.
Monthly Market Update
John Lewis - November 2014
Like September, October was a pleasant surprise outperforming our expectations in terms of homes sold. We continue to see the same trends: For Sale inventories are increasing and the rate of appreciation is still strong, but at lower rates. Most of the strength in the market is in the under $500,000 segments. We have seen a rather significant drop in showing activity in the upper end markets (over $500,000) with showings per listing dropping over 30% compared to October of last year. In part, this is influenced by more listings to choose from which spreads buyers across a larger inventory.
Monthly Market Update
John Lewis - October 2014
September’s written contracts were a positive surprise, breaking a two-month slight downward trend, indicating there is still some pent-up demand left. What we are hearing from our sales associates is the market is slowing compared to last year. The hard statistics bear this out with increasing property inventories and a slower rise in property values. Closed sales fell compared to last September, which was expected with the market settling. The increase in written contracts should translate into a stronger than expected October or November, as those contracts close. Overall, home sales remain flat – even slightly behind – compared to last year. This is from a combination of: the end of the release of pent-up demand from the recession, the increased cost of homeownership from rising prices and the tougher mortgage standards, particularly for first time home buyers.
Monthly Market Update
John Lewis - September 2014
August was a month that gave mixed signals. Sales and new listings entering the market were down, different from the last 60 days, when both were up. Prices still continued to rise (using average price per square foot) at the same 10% clip and the number of homes for sale remained about the same. It will take a couple more months of data to confirm, but it makes sense that buyer demand should begin to slow and the number of homes for sale should start to rise.
Monthly Market Update
John Lewis - August 2014
The business activity in early August and throughout July defied our predictions in a good way, as business was surprisingly robust. It seems the release of the weather-delayed- activity really hit stride in June and July. Also, the increased number of listings entering the market has brought out some buyers who, with the low inventories, had stopped looking. All in all, good news for sellers, a continued strong demand, and for buyers, a few more homes to choose from. We may see August also finish stronger than expected, but we are still holding on to the prediction that the market is settling.