Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

New housing data shows year-over-year inventory across Southeast Michigan last month reached a five-year high. Realcomp CEO Karen Kage says that's directly tied to the number of closed and pending sales, which were down about seven percent compared to December 2024.

"As those decline, then obviously the inventory would grow. I think where we're going to be paying the most attention over the next few months is in the category of new listings," she told WHMI News.

"I'll be curious to see how many properties are new on the market. How many of those are coming in. That's really going to be telling in terms of what I think the market is going to look like this year."

Livingston County is still in high-demand, according to December's data.

"Sales were up a little over three percent. Price was pretty stable, only up about one percent. Inventory is down a little bit, which is typical of what we're seeing across the board," Kage added.

Sellers continue to cash in on higher prices, with the median sales price of a single-family home in Livingston County hovering around $390,000 in December, compared to $400,000 in Washtenaw County and just over $360,000 in Oakland County.

"They're going to see that those prices are not going up as much as they were. They're still going up, but I think when you see those continue to be a little more stable, more properties will come on the market, because they'll want to make sure to take advantage as quickly as they can," said Kage.

"At the same time, the buyers are in a great position in terms of how many properties they have to look at. It just comes down to the prices and of course, the interest rates. And we're seeing those come down too."

Kage predicts an active winter and spring in the real estate market.

Realcomp's latest data for December 2025 is attached below.