As expected, July gains in Summit County real estate sales moderated substantially from the torrid pace of the first half of the year. COVID restrictions severely impacted the first six months of 2020 making comparisons quite easy, strong gains in the second half of last year made July and forth coming months much harder comparisons.
What was surprising is that July 2021 sales dipped from those in June. Normally we don’t see the seasonal peak for a couple more months.
Year over year the number of sales was up only 6 percent in July to 246 transactions. The prior six months had seen gains of 92 percent. Dollar volume fared better rising 32 percent year over year. The prior six months had been up 176%.
Versus June of this year, the number of transaction in July was down 13.7%. Dollar volume was down by 18 percent.
Despite the monthly decline in sales activity, prices remain strong. The year to date average selling price (ASP) for a single family home rose $3,000 from June reaching $1,600,866. That figure is 30 percent ahead of this time last year. Multi-family prices also gained reaching $707,888. That figure is 16.7 percent ahead of the year ago number. Mix continues to favor the higher end of the market. This accounts for both the rise in average selling prices and the stronger performance of dollars vs transactions.
Inventories Remain Low
While nationwide inventory levels have been rising, Summit County remains a tight market. The overall listing count in August was down 13 percent from the level in July. Single family listings were down 16.3 percent to 87 homes for sale. Multi family listings declined 13.1 percent to 199.
On a year over year basis, single family homes for sale are off 24.3 percent and multi family listings are down 43.4 percent. In total, listings have declined 36.4 percent year over year. We typically see inventories peak in July or August so major improvement is