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A Hopeful Start to 2024
As we entered 2024, we had so much hope for a better year than 2023, and we find there were many positives as we examine the end of the first quarter.
Looking at single-families, slide 1 shows that sales prices continued to rise at a brisk pace. Average sales price was up 8.47% and median sales price was up 9.81% compared to Q1 2023. Average days to offer was down to 31 compared to 35 for the same period.
This tells us that there is still a lot of competition out there and that many buyers are continuing to search in a limited-inventory environment. Many sales can be attributed to listings coming on the market at the end of 2023, but in many markets, inventory levels continued to remain low while demand remained high. Because of this, total unit sales of single-family homes did drop 1.81% compared to 2023, which is a factor of total averaged inventory being down to 3,060 compared to 3,245 in 2023 (see slide 2).
If we look at slide 6, we can see that in the beginning of the year, new listings coming on the market were outpacing 2023. I believe this was an indication of excitement in the market, the anticipation of the Fed believing it was time to cut interest rates and continue buyer demand. The Fed has since backed off from its predictions and has kept rates steady into this year, waiting to see if inflation will cool more before making expected cuts. As seen on slide 3, the second half of the quarter showed listing levels very similar to 2023, and I do hear stories of much positivity for new listings coming on the market as we enter a spring market earlier than in most years with our very mild winter.
Another bright spot in the market was that sales volume was up in 2024 (see slide 5). This was due to the median sales price increasing while the number of sold units did not decrease at a pace larger than the price increase. This all means that sellers are still enjoying appreciating values in the market. A lot of economists believe we are on a continued multi-year run of price increase, so it will be very interesting to watch in 2024. The spring market will tell us a lot, which makes me excited to see Q2 results.
I believe there is a lot of positive energy in the market so far this year, including the pent-up energy of sellers looking for the perfect time to enter the market and make the moves they have been waiting to make. We will see what the macroeconomics gives us this year, and if rates are cut, I believe we will see an increase in the number of units transferring.
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