June Housing Market Update: Mixed Signals as Prices Rise and Sales Decline

National Sales Data

June housing data is in with mixed results.  Although the number of existing home sales have declined 5.4% nationally both year-over-year (YoY) and month-over-month (MoM), median sales prices continue to rise.  The median sales price rose 4.1% nationally to another all-time high of $426,900.

Pittsburgh Sales Data

Here in the Pittsburgh Region the news is consistent, although a bit more extreme.  In all of Allegheny County (of which Pittsburgh sits in the center,) the number of sales plummeted by 20.1% MoM and 12.7% YoY.  The YoY median sales price bumped up 1.5% to $269,900.

In the northern suburbs of Allegheny County (encompassing the school districts of Fox Chapel, Shaler, Hampton, North Hills, and North Allegheny,) the median sales price rose steeply to $375,550, a whopping 10.5% YoY.  Compared to June 2023, the number of sold properties dipped 15.6% to only 200 properties, while the MoM saw a mild decrease of only 4.3%.

National & Pittsburgh Inventory Data

Although inventory on average is increasing on nationally, seeing 4.1 months, which is teetering on a neutral market, the Pittsburgh area is not seeing this trend.  For all of Allegheny County, there are only approximately 2 months of inventory, indicating we're still in a very strong sellers’ market.  This guage will vary wildly depending on the area, average home price and other factors.  For example, Fox Chapel has 3.6 months of inventory, while Wexford is at 1.69 months, down almost 20% from May 2024.

My Take

The rising cost of buying a home has become a limiting factor for many buyers, especially first-time buyers.  Other factors such as economic uncertainty, upcoming elections and global unrest, have many buyers sitting on the sidelines.  I believe that Pittsburgh will continue the watch-and-wait path seeing slowing sales over the next few months.  This will put downward pressure on prices, which will slow rising prices and allow more buyers to reenter the market.  This will hopefully lead us toward a healthier real estate market.

Contact me at 412-265-4241 or darla@sellmyhomepgh.com if you have questions or would like more information about your local area.