10-16-2013 08:00 PM

Housing Moves Toward 'Healthy Equilibrium'

The housing market is finding its center again, showing signs of greater balance, according to realtor.com’s latest National Housing Trend Report. The analysis finds year-over-year trends revealing strong gains in median list prices and declines in days on the market.*
“Our September data*on inventory counts, median list prices, and median time on market has shown another month of steady leveling, but the recovery certainly remains uneven in some pockets,” says Errol Samuelson, president of realtor.com. “Some of the more industrial-based markets clearly continue to struggle, yet others are showing significant price gains over this time last year. While we are pleased to see a continued trend toward a healthy market balance, imminent economic factors could pose a significant threat to these improvements.”
The report highlights some of the following progress on four main indicators for the housing market:*

  • List prices: The median list price for homes in September dropped slightly but remained 6.4 percent higher than a year ago. More than 20 percent of the 146 markets that the realtor.com report covers posted year-over-year gains in listing prices of 12 percent or more.
  • Home sales: Sales of single-family homes, condos, and townhomes fell 1.68 percent in September, after six consecutive months of gradual rises.
  • Inventory levels: Inventories were 2.04 percent less in September than year ago levels—“signaling a greater balance between supply and demand,” realtor.com’s report notes.
  • Days on market: The* median age of inventory increased from 92 days to 93 days in September. However, it has fallen by 10.58 percent in the past year, which indicates that homes are selling more quickly, according to the report.*

The report reveals the following metros with the shortest median days on the market in September:*

  • Oakland, Calif: 28 days
  • San Francisco: 45
  • Denver: 45
  • San Jose, Calif.: 45
  • Stockton-Lodi, Calif.: 45
  • Detroit: 48
  • Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz.: 50
  • Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash.: 52
  • Washington, D.C.-Md.-Va.-W.Va.: 52
  • Saramento, Calif.: 52

Source: “Housing Market Pushing Further Toward Healthy Equilibrium,” realtor.com (Oct. 16, 2013)
Read more
List of Improving Housing Markets Hits Record High




Continue Reading >>