Metro Detroit home sales plunged 20% in July compared to last year, according to figures released this morning.
In the tri-county area, 3,955 single-family home and condominium sales closed in July compared to 4,944 in July 2009, according to Realcomp, a Farmington Hills multiple listing service.
Realcomp said that the expiration of the homebuyer tax credits helped fuel the decrease in sales for the month, but the monthly numbers also suffered by being compared to July 2009 – a record sales month.
The homebuyer tax credits offered an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers and a $6,500 for move up home buyers. To get the credit, homebuyers needed to have a signed purchase agreement by April 30.
That deadline pushed sales up that might have occurred during the summer months to the spring, creating artificial sales boosts that have evaporated along with demand.
In Macomb County, there were 783 sales in July, a 14.6% drop compared to 917 in July 2009. Oakland County registered 1,380 sales in July, down 15.6% from 1,636 in July 2009. And Wayne County saw 1,792 home sales in July, a 25% drop from 2,391 sales in July 2009.
Median sales prices – that is the midpoint of all sales closed during the month – were elevated across the metro area as fewer foreclosures sell. The median price on all sales closed in July was $74,180, up 14% from $65,000 last July.
There were 3,248 non-foreclosure sales during the month compared to 1,978 foreclosure sales throughout the Realcomp listing service area. The listing service area includes the tri-county area plus Genesee, Huron, Lapeer, Livingston, Sanilac, St. Clair and Tuscola counties.
The supply of homes on the market also continues to decline in most areas. There were 38,727 homes on the market in July compared to 48,831 a year ago.