Nationally, existing home sales recently dropped to a 6-month low, falling 7.2% as buyers struggled to find a home amid rising prices and historic low inventory. Pending sales are also down, declining 4.1% as of last measure, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Builders are working hard to ramp up production—the U.S. Census Bureau reports housing starts are up 22.3% compared to a year ago—but higher construction costs and increasing sales prices continue to hamper new home sales, despite high demand for additional supply.
Across the country, consumers are feeling the bite of inflation and surging mortgage interest rates, which recently hit 4.6% in March, according to Freddie Mac, rising 1.4 percent since January and the highest rate in more than 3 years. Monthly payments have increased significantly compared to this time last year, and as housing affordability declines, an increasing number of would-be homebuyers are turning to the rental market, only to face similar challenges as rental prices skyrocket and vacancy rates remain at near-record low.
The Bottom line:
Whether renting or buying, you end up facing the same challenge of soaring prices and near-record low inventory.
With prices rising and inventory in historic low, existing home sales dropped to a 6-month low at the national level. As for new homes, though there is high demand, sales is hampered by increasing sales price and higher construction costs.
Inflation and surging mortgage rates furthers the decline in housing affordability. This causes would-be homebuyers to turn to the rental market where they end up facing the same dilemma as rental prices skyrocket and vacancy rates remain at near-record low.
Let’s take a look at some of the numbers from the March 2022 data released by the Great Plains Regional MLS:
March 2022 Omaha Area Real Estate Statistics
Average Sold Price: $321,352 (Up 15.2% from March 2021)
Homes Sold: 1,001 (Down 3.1% from March 2021)
New Listings: 1,551 (Down 9.6% from March 2021)
Pending Listings: 1,286 (Down 8.5% from March 2021)
Days on the Market: 11 Days (Down 47.6% from March 2021)
All data from Great Plains Regional MLS. Report © 2022 ShowingTime.
This report covers residential real estate activity in the Omaha area, which includes the counties of Dodge, Douglas, Sarpy, Saunders and Washington in Nebraska; the counties of Harrison, Mills and Pottawattamie in Iowa. Sources: Freddie Mac, Great Plains Regional MLS, and ShowingTime
