September 2016 Residential Real Estate Market Report
Closed Sales in Rankin County Outpace Hinds and Madison
Jackson, MS
(October 25, 2016) - Closed sales in Rankin county continue to drive the momentum for the Central Mississippi housing market with a 6.8 percent to 1,612 units ytd last month. Year-to-date closed sales in Hinds and Madison trail behind with 1,376 in Hinds and 1,229 in Madison counties.
In September, Central Mississippi MLS, Inc. (CMMLS) reported 476 single-family units were sold at a median sales prices of $172,900. Median sales prices in Hinds county experienced the largest spike at a 6.1 percent increase in year-over-year comparison, at $124,900.
Inventory has been tight and its likely to be the case for the remaining nine weeks of this year. At the end of September, only 2,772 units remained available in Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties for a 6.5 month-supply.
Regional
CMMLS reported 485 closed sales within its ten-county area which is a 4.1 percent increase from the same period in 2015. Days on Market were up to 91 with sellers receiving an average of 97.3 percent of their list price. Housing affordability remained steady at 168.
Existing-home sales in the South ticked up 0.9 percent to an annual rate of 2.16 million, but are still 0.9 percent below September 2015. The median price in the South was $204,000, up 6.6 percent from a year ago.
National
The National Association of REALTORS® reports that single-family home sales increased 4.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.86 million in September from 4.67 million in August. The median existing single-family home price was $235,700 in September, up 5.6 percent from September 2015. Total housing inventory was 6.8 percent lower than a year ago at 2.04 million existing homes available for sale. Nationally, inventory has fallen for 16 straight months year-over-year.
First-time Buyers Steer September Home Sales
NAR reports the first-time buyers reached an over four-year high of 34 percent share of all existing-home sales in September. Consistent job gains, affordable mortgage rates, and the diminishing presence of families and move-up buyers from summer sales created more opportunities for first-time buyers to reach the market last month.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist quoted, "The home search over the past several months for a lot of prospective buyers, and especially for first-time buyers, took longer than usual because of the competition for the minimal amount of homes for sale. Most families and move-up buyers look to close before the new school year starts. Their diminishing presence from the market towards the end of summer created more opportunities for aspiring first-time homeowners to buy last month."
