WASHINGTON — Frederick County’s new pending-home sales in July grew at a rate that outpaced the National Association of Realtors index, which remained above year-ago levels for the 27th straight month.
The county’s 361 new pending-home sales in July were up 10 percent annually and 3.1 percent from the month prior, according to Real Estate Business Intelligence LLC. Total pending-home sales — including backlogs from previous months — fell 1.5 percent year-over-year and 6.7 percent month-over-month to hit 665.
“People are pricing them right,” said Frederick County Association of Realtors CEO Steve Jarvis. “There’s not a whole lot of bargaining going on — they’re getting what they’re asking. It’s drying up the supply, and it’s starting to constrain the sales.”
The national Pending-Home Sales Index dipped 1.3 percent in July to 109.5, still 6.5 percent better than last year. The forward-looking index is based on home sales where contracts are signed, but the sale is not yet closed.
The Northeast in July was the weakest performing region in the U.S., falling 6.5 percent from the month prior to 81.5, but that’s still 3.3 percent higher than a year ago. The index was highest in the South at 121.5 — 2.6 higher than the month prior and 7.7 percent above July last year.
“Higher mortgage interest rates and rising home prices are impacting monthly contract activity in the high-cost regions of the Northeast and the West,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun in a statement.
Existing homes in Frederick County sold at a median price of $282,750 in July, a 12-percent jump from a year ago.
NAR predicted that existing-home sales and the median price would both rise about 10 percent this year. More construction should taper price growth to 5 percent in 2014.
In formulating his forecast, Jarvis said some local brokerage firms have told him that business is up 35 percent annually. But because much of Frederick County’s population works for the government, uncertainty related to the federal budget sequester means there’s a lot of pent-up movement in the market, he said.
“We ought to be well above what they’re predicting nationally when it’s all said and done,” Jarvis said. “I’d like to have a crystal ball to use. We’re hopeful.”