The median home sale price in metro Detroit in July increased 6.7 percent to $175,000 when compared year over year, continuing to be a beneficial market for sellers. That’s also up from $173,000 in June and and $165,000 in May this year.
However, home and condo sales remained relatively flat in July in the four-county region – Livingston, Macomb, Oakland and Wayne —when compared to a year ago with a 1.4 percent increase to 5,685 units sold, which could be due in part to a decrease in inventory across all metro Detroit counties.
Inventory decreased by 11.1 percent to 16,318 listings in July compared year over year:
Livingston County’s inventory was down 24.5 percent to 951 listings.
Macomb County saw listings drop 8.5 percent to 3,238 listings.
Oakland County listings decreased by 8.7 percent to 6,214 listings.
Wayne County’s inventory fell by 12.4 percent to 5,915 listings.
“Metro Detroit is running low on properties to come in because we’ve had so many sales (over the summer),” said Karen Kage, CEO of Realcomp.
For example, in Oakland County, home and condo sales decreased by 3.9 percent to 2,095 sales in July, while home prices increased by about the same amount (4.3 percent) to $220,000 the previous year.
“Sellers can demand a little bit more for their properties (in Oakland County),” said David Elya, owner of Rochester-based Brookview Realty and a member of Realcomp’s 2016 board of governors. “(Homes in) Rochester and Rochester Hills go pretty quick if they’re priced right. Royal Oak is another good market.”
In Oakland County, he said, sellers with a listing that’s priced competitively and shows off the house well can expect to sell their home in a week or two with multiple offers.
In Livingston County, home and condo sales decreased 8.7 percent to 336 sales when compared to July 2015. The median sale price increased by 2.1 percent to $232,250 for the same period.
Macomb County saw sales jump 26.3 percent to 1,476 compared to the same month last year. Prices also increased 7.1 percent to $149,900.
Wayne County saw a 6 percent decrease in home and condo sales to 1,778 in July compared to the same month last year. The median sale price in the county rose 8.1 percent to $127,500.
Homes were on the market for an average of 32 days in metro Detroit in July.
By ADRIENNE ROBERTS, Crain’s Detroit Business
