CHAD UMBLE | Staff WriterThe median price for homes sold both in Pennsylvania and across the U.S. in May hit new record highs, but in Lancaster County that number remained relatively unchanged from April, hovering just below the local record price.
The median sale price in May for a home in the county was $330,000, the Lancaster County Association of Realtors’ latest housing market statistics report shows. That price was up 1.5% from April and is just $1,542 shy of the record mark set last September.
The monthly report shows a 4.4% drop in new listings in Lancaster County from April, with 499 new homes coming on the market in May, below the five-year May average of 561. Compared to a year ago, new listings in May were down 9.8% while pending sales and closed sales were also down, dropping 4.3% and 8.6% respectively from May 2023.
“The spring market pumped the brakes a bit with a slight reduction of 4.4% in new listings in May,” Jeff Peters, president of the Lancaster County Association of Realtors, said in announcing the monthly figures. “The biggest change I see right now in the market is the amount of price reductions throughout the county, potentially signaling that we’ve reached a saturation rate of values in some areas.”
Housing Graphic by Travis Kellar on Scribd
The May report shows a home spending an average of 21 days on the market In Lancaster County, a week longer than in May 2023 when homes spent an average of 14 days on the market.
Statewide, median sale prices hit an all-time record high in May of $295,000, up 8.2% from April, which at the time was a record. The median price is the price at which half of the home sales are higher and the other half are lower.
“The Pennsylvania market is seeing median home sales prices continue to increase and reach new highs. Compared to May of 2020, prices are up more than 75%,” Preston Moore, president of the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors, said in announcing the monthly sales figures.
Statewide there were 37,463 homes listed for sale in May, which is up 5% from April but down 5% from May 2023. There were 15% more homes sold in May compared to April.
Nationally, existing home sales dropped 0.7% last month compared to May 2023 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.11 million, the National Association of Realtors said this week. The median existing home price in May for all housing types in the U.S. hit a record high of $419,300 last month, up 5.8% from May 2023.
The current average rate for a 30-year home loan is 6.87%, down from 6.94% a month ago, according to the latest weekly report by mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. A year ago, the same average rate was 6.67%.
