ST. JOSEPH –  The number of homes available for sale across Berrien and Cass counties and parts of Van Buren County experienced a historical at the end of April, with 1501 houses for sale. That inventory level is down 16 percent from last April, according to Alan Jeffries, association executive for Southwestern Michigan Association of Realtors, Inc.

“Couple the shrinking inventory with the prolonged winter temperatures during April, buyers had fewer choices in homes and perhaps less enthusiasm for purchasing homes,” Jeffries said.

In April this year there were 278 homes sold when in April 2017 there were 290 houses sold, indicating that sales were down 4 percent. Year-to-date, home sales were down 7 percent and records show 900 homes were sold this year versus 965 last year, according to the Southwestern Michigan Association of Realtors.

Prior to this low, the market saw two months of double digit increases in selling prices, the average selling price in April was nearly even with April 2017, at an average of $213,923 versus $214,125 and the median selling price was down 8 percent at $154,950 versus $169,000.

Year-to-date, the average selling price was up 7 percent ($211,879 vs. $198,455) and the median selling price was up 10 percent ($149,950 vs. $135,900).

Looking back in April in the year-over-year comparison, April 2018 had the highest average and median selling prices.

According to the National Association of Realtors, after moving upward for two straight months, existing-home sales retreated in April on both a monthly and annualized basis. All four major regions saw no gain in sales activity last month.

Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, decreased 2.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.46 million in April from 5.60 million in March. With last month’s decline, sales are now 1.4 percent below a year ago and have fallen year-over-year for two straight months.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said this spring’s staggeringly low inventory levels caused existing sales to slump in April.

“The root cause of the underperforming sales activity in much of the country so far this year continues to be the utter lack of available listings on the market to meet the strong demand for buying a home,” Yun said. “Realtors® say the healthy economy and job market are keeping buyers in the market for now even as they face rising mortgage rates. However, inventory shortages are even worse than in recent years, and home prices keep climbing above what many home shoppers are able to afford.”

The median existing-home price for all housing types in in April was $257,900, up 5.3 percent from April 2017 when the median was $245,000. March’s price increase marks the 74th straight month of year-over-year gains.

“With mortgage rates and home prices continuing to climb, an increase in housing supply is absolutely crucial to keeping affordability conditions from further deterioration,” Yun said. “The current pace of price appreciation far above incomes is not sustainable in the long run.”

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Midwest sales were at an annual rate of 1.29 million in April (unchanged from March) and are 3 percent below a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $202,100, up 4.6 percent from a year ago.

Nationally, the total housing inventory at the end of April increased 9.8 percent to 1.80 million existing homes available for sale but is still 6.3 percent lower than a year ago (1.92 million) and has fallen year-over-year for 35 consecutive months.

The numbers reported for local sales include residential property in Berrien, Cass and the western parts of Van Buren counties and should not be used to determine the market value of any individual property.  Those with questions about the market value of personal property can contact a local realtor.

The Southwestern Michigan Association of Realtors, Inc. is a professional trade association for real estate licensees who are members of the National Association of Realtors and ancillary service providers for the real estate industry in Van Buren, Berrien and Cass Counties.  The Association can be contacted at (269) 983-6375 or through their website at swmar.com