Weekly Market Activity Report

As we approach the summer selling season, buyer activity remains relatively subdued when compared to previous years. Pending sales for the week ending April 28 were down 11.3 percent compared to the same time last year, while new listings were 1.8 percent behind using the same year-over-year comparison. The total inventory of homes on the market is growing as we near summer but not at the same pace as 2006 thanks to a needed curtailing of new listings by builders and sellers. Only 16.8 percent of the region's available housing stock is new construction, down from a 22 percent share in December of 2006.

This week's edition of the MAAR Weekly Market Activity Report features updated figures for both the Percent of Original List Price Received at Sale and the Supply-Demand Ratio (SDR). The April 2006 Percent of Original List Price Received at Sale was 95.9 percent, up slightly from the previous month. The SDR for May 2006 is 6.64, which means there are approximately 6.64 homes on the market for every buyer. The SDR should rise through the rest of 2007, as buyer activity will taper off in the second half while more homes continue to come on the market.