Home Sales Are Up, Inventory at 4-year low
by PR or Newswire
Home sales rose 16.4 percent compared to last year.
The 16.4% increase is the biggest increase in sales since May of last year when buyers were rushing to finalize tax-credit-eligible transactions. During the month, Utah Realtors sold 2,686 homes compared to 2,307 sold in July 2010.
“The rise in home sales is positive for Utah because these gains will help push inventory lower, which will ultimately stabilize home prices,” said Kenny Parcell, 2011 president of the Utah Association of Realtors.
The number of contracts signed to buy homes was also higher in July, up approximately 22 percent compared to last year, which signals sales will likely increase next month as well. In fact, year-to-date pending sales are outpacing the first seven months of last year by nearly four percent.
This is the third straight month of double-digit gains in pending sales.
Other good news from the report was the fact that inventory dropped significantly in July. The number of homes for sale at the end of July was 25,240, down 17.5 percent from last year when 30,607 properties were on the market. Combined with the pick-up in sales, it would now take 9.9 months to sell the entire supply of homes at the current sales pace. This is the lowest statewide reading for month’s supply since March 2008.
“The drop in inventory is one of the best pieces of news from the July report,” Parcell said. “As the month’s supply drops, the demand for homes is higher and the market becomes more balanced.”
The median price of homes sold in July was $175,268, down approximately 12 percent from last year. However, prices have hovered around this level since January.
“Ultimately, we need job growth and consumer confidence to support home sales and prices,” Parcell said. “Luckily, Utah job growth continues to improve. During the last two months, we’ve seen better employment gains than we have in the past few years. That bodes well for housing.”
The Utah Association of Realtors serves more than 11,000 members and is the official trade association for real estate professionals in Utah. More information about the association is available at UtahRealtors.com.
Top 10 Counties for Closed Sales – July 2011
| Rank | County | Sales 7/2010 | Sales 7/2011 | Percentage Change |
| 1 | Sevier | 8 | 12 | +50% |
| 2 | Uintah | 30 | 44 | +47% |
| 3 | Tooele | 51 | 74 | +45% |
| 4 | Sanpete | 9 | 13 | +44% |
| 5 | Salt Lake | 752 | 1,010 | +34% |
| 6 | Emery | 3 | 4 | +33% |
| 7 | Weber | 185 | 233 | +26% |
| 8 | Cache | 55 | 69 | +26% |
| 9 | Utah | 370 | 449 | +21% |
| 10 | Juab | 5 | 6 | +20% |
| Entire State | 2307 | 2686 | +16% |
See full article featured in Utah Business, "Utah Homes Sales Up in July"
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