Only Macomb County saw positive gains in home sales – Macomb Daily
The slogan — Make Macomb Your Home — seems almost passe’ considering the latest housing report.
According to the May 2022 regional housing report from RE/MAX of Southeastern Michigan, Macomb County is the only county in metro Detroit to see positive gains in home sales, up 8.2% over last year.
“I think people see that there’s good quality homes here with a variety of price points,” said Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel.
“People choose to live where they have access to amenities — like quality education and health care — but also where they feel comfortable,” Hackel said, citing Macomb Community College and major health systems such as Henry Ford, Beaumont, McLaren and Ascension as examples.
“Taxes are also relatively low,” Hackel said, which is another big draw for homebuyers who are not only moving into the county but paying more than ever to do so.
The numbers
The rising mortgage rates — making headlines in recent week – have impacted the market.
Statewide sale totals in May fell overall, dropping 6.8 percent year-over-year from 3,792 to 3,533, but rising from 3,201 in April 2022.
Macomb County saw home sales rise from 546 to 591, while Oakland and Wayne counties saw decreases in sales from 1,504 to 1,318 (-12.4%) and 1, 512 to 1,433 (-5.2%).
At the same time, the median sales price climbed both year-over-year and month-over-month, rising 6.4 percent to $293,500 in May from $275,788 posted a year ago. April’s median sales price was $288,500.
At 4.3%, Macomb County also had the highest increase in median sales prices rising from $230,000 to $240,000. Oakland County’s median sales price went from $345,000 to $360,000, a 4.1% increase, while Wayne County’s increased by 3.4% from $175,000 to $181,000. Median prices in the city of Detroit also rose significantly climbing to 18.1%, from $65,000 to $76,752. Running a close second to Detroit was Livingston County, with median sales prices rising 12.1% from $350,600 to $393,000.
“We are still seeing a strong housing market, with relatively quick sales amid continued strong demand from buyers,” said Jeanette Schneider, president of RE/MAX of Southeastern Michigan. “There is a slight shift occurring in the market with some buyers stepping back due to the rising interest rates leading to fewer multiple offers on homes, but this is welcome news to buyers who have been bidding in a super competitive market for a couple of years.”
“I’ve been looking for a year and a half,” said Brian Pilarski, who owns a condominium in Troy. He’s originally an eastsider, having grown up in Warren but he is looking to buy a home in Royal Oak because of its proximity to the businesses he works with.
“I am hoping the craziness is behind us, and for a more normal and realistic market,” Pilarski said.
For sale signs
The number of days a home has been on the market has remained pretty much the same at a year-over-year rate of 16 days, although that’s a drop of three days from the 19 month-over-month rate. Oakland County remained steady at 14, while Wayne County (-4.8%), Detroit (-7.5%) and Livingston County (-17.6%) saw a decrease of days. Macomb County was the only area to see houses on the market longer, going from 13 to 15, a 15.4% increase.
Housing inventory sat at 1.1 for months but increased to 1.3 in May. The number of pending sales was down 1.4 percent from 4,239 to 4,179 year-over-year but increased from 3,809 month-over-month.
“While we saw an increase in the number of homes for sale this May compared to last year, both existing homes and new construction homes are in limited supply, so we expect the market to stay active during the summer buying and selling season,” Schneider said.
Last year, the homes on the market were getting 20 to 30 showings. Now that mortgage rates on a 30-year fixed mortgage are higher (close to 6%) a handful of buyers have left the market. However, while sellers will not have as many showing offers will still be substantial. Less showings and more time on the market also relieves buyers from the bidding wars they were experiencing.
“It’s become a more manageable market,” Schneider said.
Yet, it is still a very complicated one.
“Find a good realtor,” Pilarski said. “The ever changing factors in the market are extremely difficult to navigate, which makes the role of the realtor even more important.”
“I’m in the strong want-to-move category as opposed to the need-to-move and even the need-to-sell category,” added Pilarski, who is not planning to sell his condominium but rent it out once he finds a home.
