The summer market has officially come to an end, bringing with it some new market statistics. August was a record for our team, as we sold almost double the number of homes than we did last year, which was our best August as a team at that time. It was a very busy end to the summer season and promising for the fall season to come.

Listings were down 0.7 percent, so they’re almost unchanged from this time last year. There are maybe a handful fewer homes currently on the market. Sales are up 6.7 percent, so we’re seeing a significant increase in sales in the market. Last year we had 568 homes sold in the area, and this year we saw 606 homes sold.

Average sales prices are up again in August, this time by 2.1 percent. The average home price in Hamilton was $501,073, up from $490,714 this time last year. We’re seeing consistent average sales prices here hovering around just over $500,000. Average days on the market was slightly higher — last year it took 32 days to sell a home, and this year it’s taking on average 35 days.

This is probably a return to a more normal August. Traditionally, you would see days on market increase over June, July and August. Over the last few years, we didn’t see a slowdown during the summer. Things carried through, and it appeared that the spring market never left.

This year, we’re seeing a slight uptick — and that’s pretty normal historically. Nothing to worry about there as things are still selling quickly. As we move into fall, days on market will likely drop back down in or around the 30 day mark.

Inventory is up 4.1 percent this year: There were 1,522 homes still on the market last year, and now there are 1,584  Not much of a difference there, and things are looking very balanced.

It’s looking like the fall market is shaping up to be a very busy one. Going into September, we’ve already got a lot of sales taking place. I expect to see a much better second half of 2018 than we would traditionally see for a fall market.

We saw a lot of pullback on the market in the first half of the year with the new mortgage rules and, of course, a lot of negativity still surrounding the Fair Housing Plan from last year. By June, the full effects of those two items had really worn off and everyone had adjusted. Consequently, we’ve seen a much busier summer than you would expect, as buyers and sellers jump back into the market.

With a lot of pent-up demand in the market from a slower first half we expect a burst in sales over the next few months to end the year on a strong note. We’ll see how things shape up for September, but as of this time, we’re looking to be on track for another record month.

Buyers and sellers can expect sales prices to continue to rise and for sales to remain positive over the course of the fall market.

Buyers, if you haven’t realized already, values in this area are going nowhere but up. You aren’t going to be able to wait this market out, prices will continue to rise. Interest rates remain low despite the fact that we’ve had some increases and will probably see another in October. Once further increases occur, your buying ability will continue to deteriorate.

Sellers, this is a great time to put your home on the market. We have a 60- to 90-day window here at best before the 2018 market comes to a close, or else you’ll be looking at listing in the first quarter of 2019.

That’s just a quick update on the market. We’ll see how things play out in September, but so far things are looking great.