From staff reports

More new homes were put on the market in Sioux Falls in July, but not enough to boost sales or inventory growth compared with last year.

New listings increased 12 percent compared with the same time last year, but closed sales dropped 4.6 percent, according to the Realtor Association of the Sioux Empire Inc.

The average price of a house sold in the city last month was $233,543, an increase of 5.8 percent.

If it sounds like a familiar story, it is.

“We are about two years into a national trend of dropping housing supply and increasing median sales prices,” according to analysis from RASE included with the report.

“There are some regional variations to the story, but the shift to a predominantly seller’s market is mostly complete. Multiple-offer situations over asking price are commonplace in many communities, and good homes are routinely off the market after a single day. It is evident that a favorable economy keeps hungry buyers in the chase.”

The Sioux Falls market has a 3.5-month inventory of homes on the market, down 24 percent from last year.

The price range that tended to sell the quickest was $100,000 to $150,000 at 73 days; the price range that tended to sell the slowest was $800,000 to $900,000 at 171 days.

“Sales activity manages to keep churning along despite looming shortages in new construction,” the report said. “Lower price ranges are starting to feel the effects of the supply-and-demand gap, as first-time buyers scramble to get offers in at an increasing pace.”