Housing market frenzy may have peaked: Sales see record late-spring drop

ST. LOUIS (KTVI) — The housing market frenzy may have peaked for the year even as homes sold at their fastest pace and at record-high prices, according to experts with RedFin, a technology-powered real estate brokerage company.

Data nationwide shows seasonally adjusted home sales fell 1.2% from May to June, the biggest dip on record through at least 2012 for this time of year.

In all of the 85 largest metro areas Redfin tracks, median sale prices rose from a year ago. The largest increase was in Austin, Texas, up 43%. There, a typical three-bedroom, two-bathroom suburban home sold for about $485,000 last month, up from about $340,000 the same time last year.

Lake County, Illinois (up 31%) and Phoenix (up 30%) saw the next biggest price increases. The smallest price increase was in San Francisco, where prices rose 2.6% from a year ago.

Measures of market speed and competition seem to be at or near peak levels across the country.

“In June we entered a new phase of the housing market,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather in a press release. “Home sales are starting to stall because prices have increased beyond what many buyers can afford. This summer I expect home prices to stabilize as more homeowners list their homes, realizing they likely won’t fetch a higher price by waiting longer to sell.”

The number of homes for sale fell to a record low nationwide, down 28% from this time last year.

Also, homes nationwide sold in only 14 days on average, a record low, and 56% of homes sold above list price, a record high.

The national median home sale price was up 25% year over year to hit a record high of $386,888, though it was down from the record 26% in May.