After two consecutive months of home sales higher than last year, November sales fell 5.2% lower than sales in November 2013. The winter months normally see lower sales than in the summer, but sales this year have mostly been lower than what was seen in 2013.  However, home prices continue to rise, but at a slower rate than last year. The November Median Sales Price was $195,151, which was 6.1% higher than the median price last November. Inventory became slightly tighter in November with a 9.2% reduction from last year. Due to slowing winter sales, the Months Supply of Inventory rose to 5.6 on a scale where 6.0 indicates a market balanced equally between buyers and sellers.

"As expected, sales cooled off in November and remained below the level we saw last year. But with prices rising moderately, this market appears to be recovering at a more sustainable rate. The story of the next cycle will be revealed as we move from winter into spring next year," said Dave Liniger, RE/MAX, LLC CEO.  

Closed Transactions – Year-Over-Year Change
In the 53 metro areas surveyed for the November RE/MAX National Housing Report, the number of home sales dropped 22.5% from October and also fell 5.2% from sales seen in November 2013. September and October were the only two months this year to record higher home sales than the same month in 2013. Just 10 metros surveyed in November reported higher sales on a year-over-year basis, including Tampa, FL +10.1%, Burlington, VT +7.9%, Orlando, FL +7.3%, Nashville, TN +6.4%, Albuquerque, NM +3.4% and Baltimore, MD +2.4%.

Median Sales Price
The Median Sales Price of all homes sold in November was $195,151. This was 1.4% higher than the median price in October, and 6.1% above the median price seen in November 2013. On a year-over-year basis, the Median Sales Price has now risen for 34 consecutive months. Because inventory has generally moved in a positive direction this year, home prices are not rising as rapidly. In November 2013, prices were growing nearly twice as fast, at 11.8% year-over-year.  Among the 53 metro areas surveyed, 48 reported higher sales prices than one year ago. The largest price increases occurred in: Trenton, NJ +26.0%, Detroit, MI +15.9%, Milwaukee, WI+14.9%, Atlanta, GA +14.2%, Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX +13.7% and San Francisco +13.2%.

Days on Market – Average of 52 Metro Areas 
For all homes sold in November, the average Days on Market was 71, three days higher than the average of 68 seen in October and November of last year. November becomes the 30th consecutive month with an average Days on Market below 90. The low Days on Market average continues to be the result of a low inventory of homes for sale. Days on Market is the number of days between when a home is first listed in an MLS and when a sales contract is signed.  

Months Supply of Inventory – Average of 52 Metro Areas
In November, the inventory of homes for sale was lower than both the previous month and the same month last year.  Inventory was down 9.2% from November 2013 and was 9.9% lower than October's inventory. The 9.2% year-over-year difference was less than the 13.4% drop seen last November and for 14 of the last 19 months, the year-over-year inventory has been higher. The Months Supply of inventory rose from 4.9 to 5.6 in November. Metros continuing to experience low Months Supply include: San Francisco, CA 1.3, Denver, CO 1.6, Boston, MA 2.6, Seattle, WA 2.7, Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX 2.8, San Diego, CA 2.8 and Houston, TX 2.9.