Metro Detroit home sales stalled slightly in May after the expiration of home buyer tax credits that helped boost sales in April, according to Realcomp data released Monday.
Sales fell 1% to 4,733 from 4,783 in May 2009, according to the Farmington Hills-based multiple listing service.
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The metro Detroit figures include Oakland, Wayne, Livingston and Macomb counties. Realcomp figures are based on closed sales reported by Realtor members.
And pending sales, those where purchase contracts were signed in May but haven’t closed yet, were down by 7% in metro Detroit.
John Burt, broker/owner of Real Living John Burt Realty in Oxford, said the tax credits’ impact on sales was a hot topic at open houses he visited this weekend.
“We didn’t think it was going to have an impact when it was expiring, but it has,” said Burt, the president of the North Oakland County Board of Realtors.
Instead, the tax credits ended up pushing buyers into deals before April 30, when they might have purchased later in the year.
As inventories have fallen, they were down 25% to 28,301 in May for the metro area, home sales prices have risen 62.8% to $75,000 from $46,075 in May 2009.
“I think the market is definitely softer this year than last but we are ready to turn the corner,” Burt said.
Sales in Oakland County rose 14.4% to 1,616 in May compared with 1,412 last May; sales in Macomb County were up 13.3% to 887, from 783, and Wayne County sales were down by 15.4% to 2,027 from 2,397.
Median home sales prices for Oakland County rose by 41.6% to $120,400 from $85,000; prices were up 25% in Macomb County to $80,000 from $64,000 and were up 129.4% in Wayne County to $39,000 from $17,000.
Sales in the city of Detroit were off by 43.4% in May to 651 from 1,150 a year ago. Median sales prices in the city rose 58.3% to $9,500 from $6,000.