Single-family home sales for March were up 5% for Boone County, not a surprise as pending listings (homes under contract) have surged in the past few months as buyers took advantage of lower mortgage rates while they lasted. While sales in the county were up overall, sales in the City of Columbia were down almost 6% due to existing home sales down 24% and new construction sales surging over 130%.
With a jump in sales came a jump in prices. The median sold price last month was $329,999, up 15%, and the average price increased 16% to $374,639. The average sold price is a new record high for Boone County, while the median price was slightly lower than the record high set in January of this year. Prices in Columbia jumped even more. The average price was up 24% to $395,073, and the median price was up 22% to $350,000. Not record highs, but not too far off from this past January.
Days on market (DOM) continue to pick up for March, hitting 46 days, up 17%, but still below DOM for March the prior ten years.
Pending listings surged again last month, up 13% to 222 listings under contract. It’s nice to see the number increase three months in a row; however, it’s still a low number for March compared to past years.
For the first quarter of 2024, single-family home sales were up slightly over 1%. However, sales were dragged down by existing sales in Columbia, which were down 13% for the quarter. During the first quarter, new construction sales in Boone County made up more than 19% of the single-family sales in the first quarter. New construction sales used to make up 12% to 15% of total sales, but that percentage has steadily grown in the last two years as existing home sales continue to decline. The median price in the first quarter rose 14% to $325,000 as buyers took advantage of mortgage rate dips that occurred in December and January.
Condo sales in the first quarter posted a huge jump, up 36% from last year, while the median price increased 4% to $177,500.
Building permits were up 26% in the first quarter as home builders kept up with sales demand growth and were able to start more homes because of mild weather in February. The market could afford to see even more permit growth, considering building permits in 2023 were down 16% for the first three quarters before permits spiked during the last quarter of 2023.
Mortgage rates during the first quarter were volatile as bond markets digested financial information on inflation and the actions of the Federal Reserve (Fed.). Mortgage rates for a 30Yr. FRM for most of March ranged from 6.85% to over 7.1%. In April, mortgage rates remained above 7% the entire month and hit above 7.5% a few times. A 7.5% mortgage rate tends to be the number that causes buyers to pause in their home search as the market recovers from COVID, so it’ll be interesting to see April’s results.
The market had a great first quarter compared to 2023, but there could be some headwinds from higher mortgage rates in the future, and the Fed seems less likely to lower the Fed. Funds Rate anytime soon.
SOURCE – COLUMBIA BOARD OF REALTORS CEO, BRIAN TOOHEY, MBA, RCE, EPRO
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