The jump in pending listings in November, where mortgage rates steeply declined, led to a considerable increase in December home closings, where home sales in December jumped 33% to 149 units. Existing home sales were up 35% (101 sales to 136), and new construction was up 18% (11 sales to 13). Sales in the City of Columbia increased 40% from 68 sales in December ’23 to 95 sales in December of ’24.
Prices were also up, with the median price up 5% in December to $300K and the average sold price up 6% to $347,328. Prices in Columbia also increased; the median price was up 4% to $302,500, and the average price was up 10% to $354,375.
With the jump in sales, days on market and inventory levels dropped in December. Days on market were down 3% to 32 days, and overall market inventory dropped 10% to 2.88 months of supply. Months of inventory created a split market in December. The number of months of inventory on the market in December for homes priced above $500k averaged 6.99 months, indicating a buyer’s market. Inventory for homes priced below $500k had an average months of inventory of 2.58 months, still indicating a pretty strong seller’s market.
Mortgage rates were down in the first week of December, just before shooting back up above 7%. Regardless of the mortgage rate increase, pending listings overall still increased 3% for December to 130 homes going under contract. This is contrary to pending listings at a national level. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) reported last week that pending sales of existing homes were down 7% in December, blaming the steep jump in mortgage rates for the decline while pending listings of existing homes in Boone County were up 6%.
2024 Year-End Results
2024 was a volatile year following mortgage rate trends and fell below expectations. Single-family home sales were up over 1% for 2024 to 1,988 homes sold. The sales gain is only a result of the strong start to 2024 and then the jump in sales for December. The year started off with a sales gain every month through May, and then the summer and fall months reversed course with sales declines every month from June through October. It’s nice to see a gain in sales for 2024 after steep declines in 2022 and 2023; however, total annual sales in 2024 were 38% below the previous 10-year average.
Prices continue to increase year over year, as in almost every month of 2024, with the exception of slight declines in particular months. The average sale price for 2024 was up 5% to $343,436, and the median sale price was up 7% to $325,000. Price appreciation in the last five years has been higher than preferred, but prices continue to increase. One interesting price fact is that in 2018, there were only four sales of homes priced at a million dollars or more. From 2020 to 2023, million-dollar sales ranged from 11 to 16 per year. In 2024, there were 28 sales of homes priced at $1 million or more.
Condo sales were up 22% in 2024, which is surprising considering the lack of FHA financing available for condo buyers in our area. The increase comes a year after condo sales were down from 2022 to 2023 by 26%. The average condo price did decline 3%, but the median price increased 4%. The data still shows that condo prices overall still had a year-over-year sales increase. However, there were more sales in 2024 in the entry to midrange price levels compared to the upper end of the market.
The average number of months of inventory on the market for 2024 grew by 7% over 2023 but is still 27% below the previous ten-year average.
Building permits were mixed in 2024. The City of Columbia had a 44% increase in detached single-family home permits after a 7% decline in 2023. Permits in Boone County dropped 8% in 2024, while permits in Ashland dropped for a second year in a row by 6%.
The local market is still very stable, although more sales would benefit everyone and the local economy. There are some uncertainties going forward with mortgage rate volatility (Average 30- FRM was 7.09% in 2024, up from 7% in 2023), continued affordability issues, potential tax law changes, and tariffs that could affect the housing market in 2025.
Year-over-year Snapshot
SOURCE – COLUMBIA BOARD OF REALTORS CEO, BRIAN TOOHEY, MBA, RCE, EPRO
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