2024 Annual Market Trends
As Realtors®, we belong to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). Our local branch of NAR is the Greater Regional Association of Realtors® (GRAR).
While attending a GRAR event in Grand Rapids, my father and I observed a wonderful presentation, conducted by Julie Reitberg, GRAR’s CEO. This presentation provided an overview of 2024 Annual Home Sale Stats. The slides from this presentation are included below along with my interpretation of some of the statistics.
While I do not profess to be a housing economics expert, the slides and insights may help to provide a brief overview of the local housing market. These statistics are local to the Greater Grand Rapids Area, and they also reflect the broader West Michigan Market.
A summary of the information garnered from the following slides is provided at the end of this article.
Number of New Listings
The new listing information above is self-explanatory in that it represents the annual number of listings submitted to our Multiple Listing Service. It does not show what percentage of these listings resulted in a closed sale. However, some of the periods with a very high number of listings submitted, such as 2008-2009, most likely were buyers' markets, resulting with many listings never coming to fruition as a closed sale.
Interestingly, 2023 and 2024 show the fewest number of new listings per year in the above slide - the data dates back to 1997. This may stem from a number of factors including the high price of homes, the overall lack of availability for new housing, and the demand for living in West Michigan and the Greater Grand Rapids area.
Number of Sales Completed
While the previous slide did not include any information about which listed properties resulted in an eventual sale, this slide provides information about the number of properties that actually sold. This number varies with the overall economy and housing market. For example, the 2008-2009 new listing peak that was featured in the previous slide now shows the stark reality of only about a 30% sold rate. Today, we are in a seller's-leaning market, with approximately 85% of listings selling, and 15% of the listings “expiring” unsold.
In case you are interested, there are approximately 5600 Realtor® members of GRAR. Contrast this with the number of deals closed last year, and you will find that many Realtors® do not complete many (or any) transactions in a year. In fact, according to a recent Inman News Article, 76% of Agents did not do any deals last year (Inman, 2024).
Dollar Volume of Closed Sales (Total) - Estimated at $3.485 Billion for 2024
This graph helps to accurately reflect the seller’s-leaning market that we are in. Namely, the dollar-volume of total closed sales is very high, yet there are relatively few listings compared to previous years. It also helps to provide an idea of the average appreciation of real estate over the past few years, which has been very high.
Average Number of Current Listings
While the first slide referenced above in this article depicts yearly data for listings submitted to the Multiple Listing Service, this slide’s data differs in that it reflects average current listings throughout the year. This refers to the average number of listings available for buyers to purchase, and it is impacted both by the number of total listings submitted in a year and the number of days in which listings remain on the market.
From the data above, along with data provided on previous slides, it can be inferred that we are in a market both with a comparatively low number of total listings as well as a relatively short average selling period. From outside GRAR sources not included in this article, we have determined that the average number of days on market for a residential listing is between 55 and 60 days. However, it is helpful to note that for any listing that sells in one day, the next listing may take 120 days to sell. In addition to this, people sometimes disregard the approximate time periods for obtaining financing and for possession, which we estimate at 45 and 30 days respectively.
Average Months of Inventory
Data regarding Average Months of Inventory helps to provide an estimate of how the market leans - whether it be toward buyers or sellers. This information is explained more in the next slide. From the information above, it can be seen that we are suffering from a relatively short availability of inventory.
This helps to suggest that we are in a seller’s market, though I refer to this as a seller’s-leaning market throughout this article, as we are beginning to shift away from the Covid levels of inventory. The Covid level inventory is shown above with the 0.6 months of average inventory during 2021. My father has been in Real Estate Sales for over 40 years, and the Covid period was the “hottest” market he has ever seen.
Effect of Months of Inventory
The graphic above shows the correlation of Months of Inventory graphed in the previous slide. 1-4 months of inventory is considered the broad range constituting a seller’s market. 7-9 (plus) months of inventory is described generally as a buyer’s market.
From the previous slide, we are in a seller’s market with (supposedly) double digit appreciation, though it is unlikely that this double digit appreciation has actually been realized by most homeowners in the past year. It will likely take many years to fully realize the appreciation of the past few years of seller’s markets. And, in my personal opinion, it is very unlikely that the average overall appreciation will continue to be in the double digits, though it may (and does) occur in specific cases.
Average Home Sale Price
In agreeance with the above information we have discussed on our current seller’s market, supply of inventory, and subsequent appreciation, it is fitting that we would have very high home sale prices in our current market. According to this information above, the average sale price in the Greater Grand Rapids area was $381,039. Specifically in the Greenville Area, the average 2024 sale price was $284,608, with the median sale price at $224,500.
Summary Section
To summarize all of the above information, the Greater Grand Rapids and West Michigan markets are currently leaning toward a seller’s market. This is supported by an Average Months of Inventory of 1.3 months, a relatively low number of new listings with a high closing rate, and historically, a very high average and median sales price. For more local market data on Greenville, Rockford, and Grand Rapids, please see www.TopnotchGroup.com. Additionally, feel free to reach out to me at (616) 888-1394 with any questions, or if you are interested in buying, selling, or investing in West Michigan Real Estate.
Thank you for your time in reading this and I hope that it has provided you with some valuable information.
Christian Rasmussen
4 March 2025
GRAR 2024 Market Trends Presentation Slides
https://www.grar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Annual-2024-Home-Sale-Charts.pdf
GRAR Stats
https://www.grar.com/stats-test/
