New Listings
This Week
665
vs. Last Week
+16.46%
vs. Last Month
+20.04%
vs. Last Year
+6.23%
Closings
This Week
605
vs. Last Week
+16.12%
vs. Last Month
+72.36%
vs. Last Year
+5.77%
Avg. Sale Price
This Week
$270,015
vs. Last Week
+9.72%
vs. Last Month
+8.15%
vs. Last Year
+12.63%
Avg. Days On Market
This Week
19
vs. Last Week
+18.75%
vs. Last Month
-0.60%
vs. Last Year
-32.14%
Absorption Rate
This Week
37.98%
vs. Equilibrium
+21.31%
vs. Last Week
+1.58%
vs. Last Month
+2.63%
Weekly figures are not the best measure of market conditions, because they only measure 7 days at a time. However, they do indicate market direction and fluctuation.
This week, the big surprise is the rise in New Listings vs. last year. This is the first time in 7 months that we’ve experienced an increase in New Listings vs. last year! Since the Ohio and Kentucky COVID-19 quarantines were established in early/mid March, New Listings have decreased every week vs. last year, until this week. With Closings also up vs. last year, this is an indication that buyers and sellers who have been waiting on the sidelines are starting to jump into the game – later in the year than usual. The Absorption Rate has reached a record high for 2020, for the 3rd week in a row. This trend illustrates that the recent rise in New Listings is not yet keeping pace with the rise in Closings. Overall, these figures continue to reflect an extremely tight market, with very low inventory and strong demand. However, it’s encouraging for buyers to see New Listings up vs. last year. Buyers need this trend to continue in order to reclaim some of the leverage they have lost to sellers since March.
The Absorption Rate is a lesser known figure to the general public, but it may be the most important one. It factors in active & pending listings (current inventory), along with the average number of listings sold per month over the past 6 months. The resulting figure is the percentage of current inventory sold each month. Our current Absorption Rate of 37.98% can also be expressed as a 2.63 months’ supply of homes. This rate is 21.31% higher than the market equilibrium rate of 16.67%, or a 6 months’ supply of homes. When the absorption rate is higher than 16.67%, the market conditions favor sellers. When it’s lower than 16.67%, buyers have the upper hand.