Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

August housing numbers show Livingston County remains the hottest market across Southeast Michigan, with sales up 25 percent year-over-year last month.

"Now, 25 percent is a relative number. When you look at it, it's 300 properties sold compared to 240 last year, but that's a big substantial jump," says Karen Kage, president of Multiple Listing Service Realcomp.

"The prices were up almost 13 percent, and inventory is up four percent. So, again, in Livingston County, those numbers are really, really positive."

The median sale price in Livingston County in August was $439,000, compared to $430,000 in Washtenaw County, $395,000 in Oakland County and $239,950 in Genesee County.

Realcomp reports both closed sales (-6%) and pending sales (-9.8%) were down year-over-year across southeast Michigan last month, pointing to a possible breaking point for potential buyers faced with soaring home prices in recent years.

"There is 16 percent more homes on the market right now, than there were at this time last year, and the sales are down," says Kage. "So, I think we're going to need to see those prices come down before we see the sales go up and see that number properties on the market drop a little bit."

"I like having all the properties on the market. I like the buyers to be able to have more to choose from. That's very encouraging. But there's going to come a point where we to need to see some of that inventory sold, and see the sales numbers rise."

Kage says those potential homebuyers still waiting for prices to come down, may want to expand their search a little further away from work or school.

"In Shiawassee County, it shows a median sale price of $240,000 and when you look at that compared to the counties near it, like Livingston County, that median price is $439,000," she says.

New listings in Shiawassee County were up 35 percent year-over-year in August, with that median sale price up 11 percent compared to the same time last year.

"It's good that people are willing to look outside where they maybe thought they wanted to go in the first place. I think if they do that. If they expand those areas, I think they'll be successful in finding what they want."

Complete August numbers from Realcomp are attached below.