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The Housing Market is Heating Up!

This year’s housing market is off to a great start! Buyers and Sellers, are you curious to know the latest housing stats? Let’s take a look at what’s happening both locally and nationally with housing. 

First, a 2024 Housing Market Ranking report released by Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com of the top 20 housing markets in the U.S. named a Pennsylvania town. Can you guess which one showed up on the list? Lancaster, PA! It’s listed at number 15 of the top 20 housing markets in the country. Our local area is still a popular place to live!

Taking a look at the national housing market, existing home sales have surged in recent months indicating a positive sign for this year’s housing market. The good news is, the housing supply is increasing. Keeping Current Matters is reporting a change in inventory of available homes up nationally 23.5% from last year. However, for Pennsylvania, the increase is only 4.6%.

Nationally, we are seeing home prices continue to rise at about 4.7% year over year to a median national price of $384,500. The average sold price for Lancaster County, PA, for April 2024 was $348,349, up 6.7% from April 2023.

First time home buyers still continue to struggle with affordability often being beat out by cash offers and investors. National statistics show about a third of all existing home sales were paid by cash in February, up from about 28% this time last year. According to the National Association of Realtors, many of the purchases have been either investors or second home buyers. Foreclosures and shortsales continue to remain low representing only 3% of sales. 

So, what regions of the US are experiencing the highs and lows? Sales were the highest in the West, South and Midwest. The Northeast remained a little sluggish compared to the rest of the US, but keep in mind that housing demand in the Lancaster County market and surrounding areas is very strong. And finally, Realtor.com is predicting spring to be the best time for sellers to capitalize on the market. 

Key points:

  • Home inventory is increasing
  • More buyers are entering the market
  • Interest rates are expected to slowly decline
  • Home prices continue to rise
  • No crash is expected due to low inventory

If you would like more information on housing data in your town, county, or school district, please reach out. I’m here to help!

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