Residential real estate sales continue to drop. Echoing a months-long trend, last month’s home sales in the five-county area fell below the total for the same month last year. Each of the counties saw a decline in the number of homes sold. Overall, there were 182 home sales last month, compared with 261 in April 2021. Leelanau’s drop was the most precipitous: its 17 home sales stand in contrast to the 40 sold in April 2021, falling below the number sold in any April dating back six years.

The dollar volume also fell below last year’s April totals for each county as well. Overall sales totaled $78,256,903 last month, compared with $107,157,221 in April last year. However, the average sale price climbed in every county except Antrim. The increase was greatest in Leelanau County, where it jumped to $693,117 from $468,013. For the five counties, the average increased to $429,982 from $410,564.

The average number of days a home was on the market dropped significantly, to 65 from 97. At 80 and 50, the DOM for both Leelanau and Benzie was less than half what it was in April 2021, at 168 and 122 respectively. The only county to show an increase in the average days on market was Antrim, which jumped to 91 from 70. Overall, both the DOM and the average sale price set new marks for April sales.