Should investors be concerned about dip in US median home price?

For many investors their home is their largest asset, but the current US housing market is softer than they would like right now.

But as a new report reveals a second consecutive monthly decrease in the national median home price, should investors and other homeowners be concerned about a downward trend impacting potential sales value?

The latest RE/MAX national housing report for August 2024 shows a 1.1% month-over-month decrease in the median sales price to $440,000 across the 49 metro areas surveyed. However, this is up from the $425,000 of August 2023.

Also, the August 2024 figure represents the 14th consecutive month that the median price has remained higher than the year-ago figure. Buyers paid 99% of the asking price in August, the same as both July 2024 and August 2023.

The markets with the biggest year-over-year increase in median sales price were Burlington, Vermont, at +14.1%, Tulsa, Oklahoma, at +10.3%, and Seattle, Washington at +8.5%. The markets with the biggest year-over-year decrease in median sales price were Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, at -4.5%, Bozeman, Montana at -2.1%, and San Antonio, Texas, at -1.6%.

A recent report found that home equity for the roughly 62% of homeowners who have a mortgage increased in the second quarter of 2024 by $1.3 trillion, taking the total net equity in their homes to $17.6 trillion.

The sales price is only one part of the housing market story of course. Sales in August were down 3.3% month-over-month and 3.8% year-over-year and showing only the third month so far in 2024 where sales were down from a year earlier.

Listings are up 7.9% year-over-year and 1.6% month-over-month and have been higher than year-ago figures in seven out of the eight months of data for 2024 so far.

Despite that, Amy Lessinger, President of RE/MAX, LLC, remains optimistic about the US housing market.

"While we saw a slight dip in sales month-over-month, the market continues to show resilience with some year-over-year price growth," she said. "The rise in new listings signals that more homeowners are recognizing the value of listing in today's environment. Buyers and sellers alike can find opportunity, especially with a steady flow of homes entering the market."