Western Pa. average home sale price tops $200,000 for 1st time

Home sales in the Greater Pittsburgh market rose in 2019 and set a record for average sale price, West Penn Multi-List Inc. said in its year-end report.

“It is a great time for people that have ever considered selling to get on the market because there is a lot of demand that is not being satisfied out there,” said Tom Hosack, president of West Penn Multi-List.

At a time when demand is exceeding supply, home prices are increasing — so much so that the average sale price in 2019 topped $200,000 for the first time.

The 2019 report concluded home sales and prices rose in the 17-county area compared with 2018 but that home listings dropped slightly.

“Overall, 2019 was a good year for residential real estate, reaching more than $6 billion in closed sales volume,” Hosack said. “It’s still a good environment to buy or sell a home, but the question remains whether or not the supply of homes will be able to meet the demand.”

According to the year-end report:

• Closed sales were up 3.86% — 30,356 units in 2019 compared with 29,228 units in 2018.

• Closed sales volume was up 9.36% — $6.079 billion in 2019 compared with $5.559 billion in 2018.

• Average sales price was up 5.3% — $200,285 in 2019 compared with $190,203 in 2018.

• Home listings were down 0.53% — 39,847 units in 2019 compared with 40,059 in 2018.

A mild winter and low interest rates contributed to the increased sales activity, although months’ supply of inventory remains tight at 3.3 months, Hosack said. Months’ supply of inventory is the total number of residential properties listed for sale at the end of the month (current inventory) divided by the number of sales contracts signed during the month. Six months is considered a balanced inventory.

“Mortgage rates have been low for most of last year, and they just recently hit their lowest level since October,” Hosack said. “This could cause further tightening of inventory since many homeowners already refinanced their mortgage or bought when rates were low, so they don’t intend to sell.”

The West Penn Multi-List covers 17 counties: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Cambria, Clarion, Crawford, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, Mercer, Somerset, Venango, Washington and Westmoreland.