Tyler home sales high, inventory low

TYLER – The latest numbers from the Greater Tyler Association of Realtors (GTAR) show the average number of days a home spends on the market is creeping down, even as the number of sales and the average prices are rising.

“The days-on-market are shorter every month of the year so far,” says GTAR’s Claudia Carroll. “That means it’s a little more of a seller’s market. There are buyers out there waiting for things to come on the market.”

That is a statewide trend, according to the Texas A&M Real Estate Center. Research Economist Dr. Jim Gaines said in a release that the state is seeing high demand and low inventory.

“As long as inventory stays tight, and as long as demand stays high relative to supply, we’re going to keep seeing these kinds of price increases,” Gaines said.

The 216 homes sold in Smith County in May showed an increase of 15 percent from April’s 188 homes. It is also up slightly (about 1 percent) from May 2014’s 214 homes.

There are some important trends evident in the newest GTAR numbers — one is number of days-on-market. In the past 12 months, that number has been as high as 84. In May, it was down to 65, from April’s 73 and March’s 74. That trend shows how eager buyers are.

The average price rose about 6 percent, from April’s $199,262 to $211,579. That is a record for Smith County. The median for May was $172,500, up about 6 percent from April’s $162,500, and May 2014’s $161,400.