51,123 homes sold
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 2, 2017) — A record 52,123 homes were sold in Kentucky in 2016, up 8 percent from the previous record of 48,259 in 2015, according to the Kentucky Association of Realtors.
Sales reached record numbers in November (4,088 sales) and December (4,131), with sales up 26.9 percent in November and 9.2 percent in December.
Home prices increased to a median of $122,125 for the year, beating the 2015 record of $119,091. Even with back to back record years, the increase in price for Kentucky was far below (just over 55 percent) the national median home price of $221,500. In December, Kentucky’s median home price climbed to $120,910, another record for the state.
Total volume of all homes sold in Kentucky broke the $9 billion mark for the first time with $9.17 billion in sales. This surpasses the $8.21 billion sold in 2015.
“2016 was a unique year for real estate in Kentucky,” said Mike Becker, 2017 president of KAR. “Low inventory was an issue in just about every region of the state, but with low interest rates and a continuous demand from qualified buyers, homes didn’t stay on the market long if they were priced appropriately.”
At the end of the year, housing inventory across Kentucky was down 25 percent from 2015. Having 4.6 months of inventory to close out 2016 (compared to 6.1 months in 2015) puts the state into what is characteristically a seller’s market, but consumers are seeing affordable prices on the buying side. Days on market (DOM), an indicator that shows housing demand, dipped 5.7 percent to 131.9 days in 2016. In larger metro areas in Kentucky such as Lexington and Louisville, days on market are down into the range of two to three months.
“We are at a time where, in most areas, well priced homes are moving fast due to low inventories. It has become a low supply versus high demand issue and buyers who want to get in the market have to move quickly to secure a home,” said Becker. “Boosting home construction should give buyers more options and help sellers feel more comfortable putting their homes on the market. Home building may ramp up going forward but if you need to sell now, the market seems primed.”
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