July 2023 Real Estate Trends Humboldt County
Real Estate Trend Charts for Humboldt County
Updated for July 2023
Attached are the recently updated real estate trend charts. The monthly charts are updated through the end of July, 2023. The rest are date stamped with the day they were updated.
- – Active residences (current inventory) – The number of homes on the market continued to climb from a low in late April into mid-July reaching a high for the year so far of 393 on July 14th. This is an increase over the high of last year, also in July. We may approach 393 again later in the year which is normal market behavior. This increased number of listings is giving buyers a few more choices.
- – Median prices. Last month’s slight decrease in the 3-month median price (a $500 drop) appears to have only been a brief slowdown. The month of July saw an increase from $438,000 to 445,000. Midway through this current buying season, the buyers brought some energy to the market. Last year, prices peaked midyear then declined into January and have been rising again into July, this year. With the up, down, up, prices have ultimately leveled off at least for the time being
- – Median DOM (days on market) for homes that sold over the past 30 days. We have stayed in the 9-12 day range for the past several weeks for Median DOM (the time period where 50% of the homes leave the market). This is normal trend behavior during the buying season and shows that the market is still very active and the need to act quickly for that “dream house”.
- – Number of pendings last 30 days close-up. The number of pendings has continued to increase during our “buying season” but not yet enough to break out of the down-trend we have been in for the past two years. The biggest hindrance to more robust sales numbers is the rising interest rate which eliminates some buyers altogether and puts pressure on those who can still afford it. Interest rates have inched upward since the middle of May.
- – Homes sold for 12 Consecutive Months. After declining month after month for over a year, the number of homes sold for a 12-month period hit a place of support in July. The number for both June and July is 1012 homes sold for the previous 12 months. It’s not yet a reversal of trend but it is a hopeful sign that sales numbers will not fall under the 1000 mark.
- – List price compared to sold price. I remarked last month that “the market needs a dose of caffeine”. The median list price of homes for July increased as did the sales price. It is still a competitive market and it looks like both the buyers and sellers ordered a dark roast for July and gave the market some energy. The median sold price is staying below the median list price which is the normal relationship.
- – 30-year Fixed Mortgage rate. In November of 2022, the 30-year fixed interest rate peaked at just over 7%. From there, the rate declined into February of 2023. Since then, the rate has started to trend higher and is again approaching the 7% range. Rising interest rates have had a direct impact on the real estate market. For every uptick in the mortgage rate, buyers are losing purchasing power. This affects sales numbers and will most likely affect future sales prices.
