Real Estate Supply falls, prices rise
THE COASTAL REAL ESTATE RESOURCE Coastal Association of Realtors/Ocean City Today
Another month of low inventory, fewer settlements and higher prices. That’s how it works here on the lower Eastern Shore and everywhere.
A
ccording to the Coastal Association of Realtors, local activity falls in line what national
trends. Although August 2018 did see a 7.7 percent bump in new listings, overall active listings were down by 24 percent on the Shore. That translates to 572 new listings and 3,149 active listings for the month of August. Individually, available housing units were down by 27.2 percent in Worcester County, by 23.3 percent in Wicomico County, and by 8.5 percent in Somerset County, compared to the same time last year. New settlements were down by 7.4 percent overall compared to August of last year, with Worcester seeing a 1.8 percent drop, Wicomico a 12.9 percent drop, and Somerset a 24.2 percent drop. Year to date settlements were down overall by 5.7 percent, with Worcester seeing a 6.7 percent decrease and Wicomico a 5.8 percent decrease. Somerset was up by 4.1 percent. Limited inventory tends to boost housing prices, and the lower Eastern Shore was no exception last month. The median list price for the tri-county area was $171,750, which is 12.3 percent
higher than the same time last year. The median sale price was $162,000, which is 4.5 percent higher than the same time last year. Residential properties are moving off the market a bit faster than they were last year. Overall, cumulative days on market (CDOM) was up 8.3 percent. Individually, CDOM was up by 18.2 percent in Worcester and by 121.2 percent in Somerset, but was down by 41.7 percent in Wicomico. A recent report released by NAR’s Chief Economist Lawrence Yun showed that Realtors across the country have stated that limited housing inventory is hindering local market home sales. Inventory levels have fallen for three straight years, and multiple bidding is still prevalent on starter homes in many markets across the country. Some of the nation’s hottest housing markets are said to be slowing, but drops in home sales can be connected directly to supply shortages and corresponding price increases. “The answer is to encourage builders to increase supply, and there is a good probability for solid home sales growth once the supply issue is addressed,” Yun Continued on page 4
OCTOBER 2018