August means shorter summer days, kids heading back to school, and families squeezing in one last vacation before fall arrives. What did August mean for some of the biggest real estate markets in the country?
Let’s take a look at how the August real estate trends compared to this time last year:
Atlanta
Aside from a slight 4% drop in sales price, the numbers from this August are pretty similar to August 2017. If that holds, however, then we might already be seeing a shift as seasons change. Last year, homes spent longer on market after August until the tide shifted in February — and other stats like listing price and sales price followed suit.
We’ve mentioned that Atlanta is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, so it’ll be interesting to see if these trends repeat themselves in 2018-2019.
Austin
Though the days on market jumped 12.5% compared to August 2017, that’s no indication that the hot housing market is cooling off. The ratio of listings to sales has dropped by 11.5% year-over-year, so buyers are likely feeling the squeeze of fewer houses on the market.
Like most cities, Austin is expected to see the market cool down a bit until February rolls around.
Boston
It’s no surprise that Boston — known as a cold weather state for half the year — typically sees houses zooming off the shelves much faster in summer. The days on market is creeping up by 7% compared to last year, but still — 75 days on market is a sign of a very competitive market.
Much like we mentioned in July, the sales price continues to stand out — jumping nearly 17% year over year (about $100,000). That’s the highest increase among these top real estate markets.
Charlotte
Charlotte saw houses stay on the market a little bit longer than last August — about 6% longer — but our eyes are on the inventory here. The ratio of houses for sale to just sold was about 50/50 both this past August and August 2017, though the inventory for each has shrunk. Active listings have dropped by 6%, and sales have dropped by almost 8%.
As Charlotte becomes a more popular place to live, expect to continue seeing the downward trend in inventory.
Chicago
After a big drop in inventory from July 2017 to July 2018, August saw a slight uptick in listings compared to last year — about 2% more. Our eyes are on September, which saw a huge increase in inventory in 2017. Buyers gobbled up the inventory just as fast, knowing that the early fall is the time to move ahead of chilly Chicago winters.
Listing price is also 11% higher, though the sales price has only crept up 2% — proving there’s still room for buyers to negotiate.
Denver
With houses only spending 67 days on market, Denver buyers might have thought it couldn’t feel any more competitive. But, our data show that the inventory continues to shrink — though only by 1.3% compared to last August. The competition is clear in the sales prices, as homes are going for 6% over listing price versus August 2017.
If it’s any consolation, month-over-month, the sales price has actually been trending downward since May.
Los Angeles
The big story in LA is that inventory is on the decline compared to last August — 12% fewer listings and 26% fewer sales. It’s no surprise that this has created a bump in both listing (11%) and sales (5%) prices, so buyers should prepare and expect to make offers above listing price in this market.
Unlike colder areas, the LA market stays fairly strong through early winter until December and January roll around.
Miami
The trend in Miami continues to be a growing inventory of listings. There are 22% more listings than August 2017, compared with 4% more sales. Houses are on the market for 17% longer, which is no surprise with the current surplus.
Unlike many of these other cities, Miami benefits from being in the Sunshine State because winter doesn’t really cool off the market.
Minneapolis
Folks in Minneapolis last August probably thought the market was already moving quickly — but the 58 days that homes spent on market has actually shrunk even more. Homes are spending 5% fewer days on market (only 55 days), and sellers are seeing sales prices jump about 6% compared to last year.
It seems like first-time buyers in the area are particularly feeling the crunch. As we’ve mentioned, winter is the only time that this hot housing market gets chilled by the icy temps.
Nashville
The numbers in Nashville are interesting — still quite a competitive market, though the listing price has actually gone down slightly since last August. The result? Sales prices have increased more than 8%, so perhaps there are a lot of bidding wars happening in Nashville as sellers try to tempt buyers with lower listing prices.
It’s worth noting that the inventory has jumped quite a bit since last year — about 21% — but homes are still spending 3% fewer days on market, proving that the folks moving to Nashville are gobbling up properties.
Seattle
For the past three months, homes in Seattle have stayed on the market around 50 days on average — though August may have seen buyers breathing a small sigh of relief. The inventory jumped by about 59% from May to June in 2018, and it continued to grow in July and August.
There were 70% more listings compared to August 2017, though houses are still flying off the shelves faster than last year — probably not what buyers in this hot market want to hear.
St. Paul
Like its Twin Cities counterpart, St. Paul is somehow seeing its market get even hotter. On average, homes are only staying on the market for 58 days — down about 6% from last August — and sellers have seen sales prices surge by 13%. With the inventory down 11% since last August, it’s going to stay competitive in St. Paul.
Washington, DC
Like many of these other big cities, DC is seeing a drop in how long houses stay on the market — about 9% fewer days compared to last August — though not a ton of fluctuation in listing or sales prices.
Last September saw a big bump in listing inventory as sellers prepared to move before winter, so we’d expect to see something similar this month as well. Buyers eager to move are keeping their fingers crossed for a little breathing room here, too.