Home sales continue to dwindle while prices continue to rise, according to statistics from the Traverse Area Association of Realtors. The number of homes sold in the five-county area dropped from 154 in January a year ago to 138 last month. It’s part of a four-year trend that has seen a drop in sales each year from 2016’s high of 186 homes sold. At the same time the number of sales is declining, prices are increasing. Last month’s total of $46,290,606 topped all previous January figures. Both average and median prices also hit all-time highs, at $335,439 and $224,500, respectively.
 
Only Leelanau County saw a rise in the number of sales, with 28 in January 2019 compared with 20 in January 2018. Dollar volume there more than doubled, going from $6,722,964 in 2018 to $16,039,650 last month. Benzie County was the only county that did not see an increase in the dollar amounts, as it went down in total volume, average price and median price.
 
In another sign of decreasing activity, the average number of days a property is for sale also increased in every county except Antrim. Overall, the average Days on Market increased from 126 in January 2018 to 146 in January 2019.