OWN THE SUMMIT

Summit County real estate sales ended 2019 with a big bang.  Dollar sales rose 27 percent to  $181.6 million while transaction volume increased  29 percent to 230 sales.  While transaction volume was essentially flat with November of this year, dollar volume was up 7.7 percent.

For the full year, dollar volume rose 9 percent to $1.9 billion dollars, the highest level in Summit County history.  Despite the strong December, transaction volume still failed to match the levels of 2018, falling 3 percent to 2,442 sales.

Price point trends for December and the full year followed a similar pattern.  Sales at the low end as a percentage of all sales trailed their historical norms significantly.  In the month, sales below $500,000 accounted for 29.2 percent of all sales and for all of 2019 that number was  32.2 percent.  In 2018, that range accounted for 37.2 percent and as recently as 2015 it was 59.9 percent.

Most of the mid tier price points at $100,000 increments from $500,000 to $2 million were ahead of 2018 while the $2.0-3.0 share dipped slightly.

For the full year, average selling prices (ASPs) rose for both single family and multi-family properties.  The single family ASP rose 10.5 percent to $1,262,929 al-though the year over year gain moderated as the year progressed.  Multi-family ASP increased by a more modest 6.9% reaching $559,776.  That was the smallest increase for the category since 2016 when multi-family prices rose only 2.6 percent.

The less impressive performance in the multi-family category could be explained by the inventories.  Total inventory in January 2020 fell from December in its normal seasonal pattern.  But, as has been the case for several months , January 2020 multi-family listings are up an impressive 42 percent year over year. Single family listings for the same time period were down almost 9 percent.

In November Summit County real estate sales saw a gain in transaction volume versus a year ago for the second month in a row.  The pattern for most of the year has shown positive comparisons on a dollar basis but a decline in the number of transactions. For November, dollar sales increased 10 percent over the 2018 level to $168.6 million.  That figure, however, was down 15 percent from the prior month. Transaction volume, with 231 sales, increased 2 percent versus a year ago but was down 19 percent from October.

For the year to date, dollar volume is up 7 percent to $1.7 billion.  Transaction volume, however is down 5%  to 2,212 sales with seven of the 11 months so far showing negative comparisons.

The year to date average selling price (ASP) for single family homes in the county stood at $1,264,516, the lowest level since January of this year.  Nevertheless the figure is up 11 percent from the full year 2018  number.  The ASP for multi-family properties stood near the high end of this year’s range at $563,656.  That represents a 9.9 percent increase over all of last year

As has been the case for much of this year, the low end of the market failed to keep its fair share of sales.  Properties below $400,000 were only  18.2 percent of sales in November.   That figure was 24.8 percent last year and exceeded 40 percent as recently as  2016.  Outperforming segments included the $400,000-$700,000, $1.0 to 1.5 million and $2.5 million + ranges.

Following the normal seasonal pattern, inventories at the end of December fell 11.6% from the November level.  Listings, however, are up 22.7 percent versus this time a year ago.  Once again, multifamily properties make up more than 100 percent of the gain rising 50 percent to 312 listings.  Conversely, single family homes for sale dropped  10.6 percent

Real estate sales in Summit County this year have followed a steady pattern of lower transaction volume but higher dollar sales.  In July that pattern was broken with increases in both categories but August returned to the familiar design.  While August transactions were up 19.7 percent from July, they were down 18 percent from the prior year period with 261 sales.

Dollar volume was up 41 percent from the July 2019 figure.  However, it squeaked up only 1 percent from the year ago period to $259.1 million.

Not surprisingly year to date numbers show the same dichotomy.  Transactions are down 10 percent while dollar volume is up 5 percent.

Relatively heavy activity at the high end of the market helped generate the overall rise in dollar sales. In August, there were nine sales of more than $3.0 million dollars.  There had only been 16 such sales in the prior seven months.

Year to date average selling prices (ASPs) ticked up in August from the prior month in both the single family and multi-family categories.  For single family, the year to date ASP is $1,307,236 in Summit County.  That represents a 15.7 percent increase over a year ago.  The ASP for multi-family properties hit $564,085.  That represents a gain of 12.4 percent from a year ago.  Raw land sales have averaged $328,602, down 13 percent.

Following its normal pattern, inventories peaked in August and have started their seasonal decline.  Nevertheless, inventories are up substantially from a year ago.  Overall, listings are up 52% from a year ago with 720 properties on the market.  Notably, more than 100% of that gain is in the multi-family category.  Listings of multi-family homes are up 112 percent from a year ago and fell by only 3 units in September to 480.  Meanwhile, single family inventory is actually down 3 percent to 239 homes.

After a very weak June, Summit County real estate sales rebounded in July.  Transaction volume in the month rose 3 percent ahead of the year ago level.  It was up 21.8 percent from the prior month with 218 sales.

As has been the case most of  the year, dollar volume was even stronger.  Total dollar sales rose 12 percent to $168.9 million.  That figure was  34.9 percent ahead of the June 2019 period.

Despite the July gain, year to date  transaction volume is still down 8 percent from the 2018 levels.  Dollar volume, however, is up 6 percent year over year.

The year to date average selling price (ASP) for single family homes in the county dipped $40,00 from June coming in at $1,279,010.  That still represents a gain of better than 15 percent versus a year ago.  Conversely, the ASP for multi-family properties rose $9,000 to $558,995.  However, that number is only 8 percent above the year ago level.

The mix of sales for July followed the pattern we have seen most of the year with the low end of the market substantially under performing.  Sales below $500,000  represented only 28 percent  of  total transactions.  Year to date that number is 33.5 percent.  In 2018 that number was  37.2 percent and as recently as 2015 it was 60 percent.  The low sales are not a surprise given that only 25 percent of current listings are priced below $500,000.

After several months of sharp rises, the number of listings flattened in July with a total of 764 listings versus 759 the prior month.. Year over year, single family listings are up 5 percent and represent a little more than  one third of residential properties for sale.  Multi-family listings, however, are up a staggering 76 percent versus a year ago.  That places total listings up 41 percent.  If you are thinking of buying a condo or townhome,  this may be the best variety of choice you will have for quite some time.

June was a tough month for Summit County Real Estate sales as both transactions and dollar volume experienced sharp declines from the June 2018 levels.  The number of residential sales declined 28.1 percent from a year ago and were off 19.5 percent from May with 179 total sales.  Dollar volume took a similar hit falling 27.3 percent from a year ago and  21.2 percent from the prior month.  Sales for the month totaled $125.2 million.

For the year to date, dollar volume is still in the black.  Through June, dollar sales have totaled $757.7 million up 5 percent from the first six months of 2018.  Transaction volume for the period, however, is in negative territory declining 10% to 972 sales.

Despite the sharp drop in activity, average selling prices (ASPs) continued to rise. The ASP for a single family home in the county reached $1,319,418 up $9,000 from May and more than 23 percent from a year ago.  For multi-family units the increase in ASP was more modest.  At $549,387, the figure was up just under $1,000 from May and represented an 8.2 percent gain over the level at this time last year.

For the month, there was no discernible bias in the sales mix.  However for the year to date, we still see the lower end of the market running well below historical norms.  For example, so far this year, sales under $500,000 have accounted for 34.8 percent of total sales in the county.  In 2018 that figure was 37.2 percent and in 2015 it was 70 percent.

Inventories rose sharply in June, increasing 14 percent overall from May.  Year over year, total listings are up 44.5 percent.   Single family listings, which as of June had been flat, are now up 12 percent year over year.  The rise in multi-family listings, however, is even more striking.  The inventory of condos, town homes and duplexes is up an astounding 76 percent from the levels of a year ago.  This category has certainly become a buyers market.