July sales of single family homes for the five-county area are similar to last year, according to figures from the Traverse Area Association of Realtors. And while the total homes sold are roughly the same, sales in Grand Traverse County experienced a significant drop. Overall, prices continue to climb.

 A total of 326 single family homes were sold in the five-county area last month, compared with 330 in July 2016 and 309 in 2015. The average price was $278,868, compared to $257,515 in 2016 and $246,167 in 2015.

 Every county has recorded significant increases in the number of homes sold and the dollar volume over the past nine years. In 2009, there were only 198 total sales, with an average price of $193,591. Total sales volume in 2009 was $38,330,997; this year it was more than double that, $90,911,157.

 For Grand Traverse County, sales topped out at 193 homes sold in 2015. That decreased to 171 a year ago; sales figures for July 2017 dropped to 135. Many realtors attribute the drop to the lack of inventory for sale.

The opposite trend is seen in Leelanau, where sales jumped to 60 this year from 39 in 2016 and 33 in 2015. In Antrim, sales more than doubled over the three years, with 30 in 2015, 52 in 2016 and 63 sold this year.

 Higher-end sales (homes priced $500,000 and up) are roughly static for this year compared to last; a total of 34 homes in that category sold in July 2017 with a volume of $27,262,000, while there were 36 sold in July 2016, albeit with a decrease in dollar volume of $26,122,000.