Each month, MoodyOnTheMarket.com brings you an exclusive first look at the Southwest Michigan housing market: sale prices and other measuring points as tracked by the Southwestern Michigan Association of Realtors. The market is continuing to slow, driven by higher mortgage interest rates that dictage monthly payments:
After a burst of steam in March, the April housing market chilled, with sales and selling prices falling behind last year.
In April 2023, the number of houses sold dropped to 194 from 263 sold in April 2022, for a 26 percent decrease. Year-to-date, 739 houses were sold, compared to 885 houses in April 2022, for a 16 percent decline in sales.
The inventory of houses for sale increased slightly from a year ago (617 vs. 601), bringing the inventory of houses for sale up to 3.3-months of inventory available for buyers compared to 2.5 months of inventory in April 2022. The current inventory continues to hover at a low level for the market area. Previously, the market had a 5.8-months supply of houses for sale in April 2019, in the middle of the peak selling rush. Going back further in the year-over-year comparison, in April 2010, there were 3452 houses for sale for a 15.6-months supply of houses for buyers.
The average selling price in April 2023 was $324,093 compared to $364,201 in April 2022, for an 11 percent decrease. Year-to-date, the average selling price in April 2023 declined 7 percent from April 2022 ($306,103 vs. $327,522).
The median selling price in April 2023 at $240,000 fell 5 percent from $252,650 in April 2022. Year-to-date, the median selling price decreased by $1,400 ($225,000 vs. $226,400).
The median price is the price at which 50% of the homes sold were above that price and 50% were below.
The drop in sales and selling prices lowered the total dollar volume in April 2023 by 34 percent compared to April 2022 ($62,893,256 vs. $95,784,920). The year-to-date total dollar volume dropped 22 percent ($226,211,850 vs. $ 289,857,261).
The number of bank-owned or foreclosed homes as a percentage of all transactions stayed at 3 percent, the same as in March 2023. The previous lowest percentage was 2 percent in April 2021, and the highest percentage in April was 54 percent in 2009.
The Freddie Mac mortgage rate in April was 6.43, up from 6.32 in March for a 30-year conventional mortgage. A year ago, the rate was 5.1.
This data reflects home sales across Allegan, Berrien, Cass, and the westerly 2/3 of Van Buren Counties and should not be used to determine the market value of any individual property. If you want to know the market value of your property, please contact your local REALTOR®.
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