6.17.23 – The Oklahoman
OKC-area home sales were back on in May after stumbling the month before. Sales were up 28%, pending sales were up 3.1% and new listings were up 8.3% compared with April, according to the Oklahoma City Metro Association of Realtors. The median price was up 2.2%, to $276,000, both month to month and year over year.
Still, it was a whole different world compared with this time last year. Everything else was down year over year, as higher mortgage rates kept taking a toll on the market:
Sales were down 19.4%; pending sales were down 8.3%; and new listings were down 14.2%, compared with May of 2022, the Realtors said.
May: Increased sales in OKC put it out of step with decline nationally
Oklahoma City sales, with the positive moves month to month, were out of step with the national market again. Sales slid 3.4% nationwide in May as higher home loan rates continued to hammer affordability, keeping many would-be buyers on the sidelines. Sales were down 23% year over year across the country, the Realtors reported.
“With sales cooling, buyers in some parts of the country have found relief in the form of declining sales prices, which are down 1.7% year over year nationally, although more affordable markets continue to see price gains,” local Realtors said in a monthly report.
The Realtors added: “While fluctuating interest rates have pushed some buyers to the sidelines, a shortage of inventory is also to blame for lower-than-average home sales this time of year, as current homeowners, many of whom locked in mortgage rates several percentage points below today’s current rates, are delaying the decision to sell until market conditions improve.”
It’s still a sellers’ market for homes in Oklahoma City and across the U.S.
The U.S. home supply stood at 2.9 months (88 days), and the OKC-area supply at 1.8 months (55 days), at the end of May, the Realtors said. It’s still a sellers’ market, meaning they have the advantage in negotiations. A supply of five to six months is generally considered to be a balanced market.
Here are the latest numbers, from May, via the metro-area Realtors, reflecting sales in OKC, Arcadia, Bethany, Blanchard, Choctaw, Deer Creek, Edmond, Harrah, Luther, Midwest City, Moore, Mustang, Newcastle, Nicoma Park, Norman, Piedmont, Tuttle, Warr Acres and Yukon — not the entire MLS, which extends past the OKC area into rural locales.
How much homes sold for in the Oklahoma City area in May 2023
- Median sales price: May, $276,000, up 2.2% from April, $270,000; up 2.2% from May 2022, $270,000.
- Percentage of asking price received: May, 99.5%; same as April, 99.5%; down from May 2022, 102.2%.
How many homes were offered for sale in Oklahoma City in May 2023
- Inventory of homes for sale: May, 2,576; up 3.2% from April; up 46.4% from May 2022.
- Months of supply: May, 1.8 (55 days); up from 1.7 (52 days) in April; up from 1 (30 days) in May 2022.
- New listings: May, 2,001; up 8.4% from April; down 14.2% from May 2022.
- Closed sales: May, 1,585; up 28% from April; down 19.4% from May 2022.
Senior Business Writer Richard Mize has covered housing, construction, commercial real estate and related topics for the newspaper and Oklahoman.com since 1999. Contact him at rmize@oklahoman.com.