Lexington, KY — Home sales were up for the third consecutive month since the housing market roared back to life in June. 5,475 closings took place in Kentucky, up almost 7% over August of 2019. That follows an almost 15% increase experienced in July. Year-to-date sales surged to 35,705, up 4% from August of last year.
Nationally, total existing-home sales completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops, rose 2.4% from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.00 million in August. Sales as a whole rose year-over-year, up 10.5% from a year ago (5.43 million in August 2019).
“Home sales continue to amaze, and there are plenty of buyers in the pipeline ready to enter the market,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Further gains in sales are likely for the remainder of the year, with mortgage rates hovering around 3% and with continued job recovery.”
The median sale price of homes in Kentucky soared 15% to $199,900 (up from $175,500 just one year ago). The statewide average home price climbed to $236,169. For the second consecutive month, sales volume surged over 20%. That figure reached $1.3 billion, up from $1.06 billion in August 2019. This continues the 2020 sales volume hot streak and pushes the year-to-date sales volume almost 12% ahead of 2019’s figure at $6.98 billion.
The number of homes available on the market still hovers at near all-time lows with 1.74 months of inventory in August. This figure is down over 40% for the third consecutive month and down almost 48% over August 2019.
“REALTORS® continue to assist Kentuckians with, arguably, the most important investment of their lives”, said Lester T. Sanders, President of Kentucky REALTORS®. “Whether COVID-19 and related circumstances have changed their situation, or whether record low-interest rates have inspired a decision, REALTORS® are there when we needed to help facilitate smooth and successful transactions.”
Distressed sales (foreclosures or short sales) were down almost 80% over August of 2019. This amounted to only 21 units as programs seem to be helping homeowners to remain in their property.
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