Sellers' Market Developing According to NAR

The National Association of Realtors®rn(NAR) said today that a sellers’ market is developing in real estate as home salesrnedge up and home prices continue to rise steadily compared to year-agornlevels.  Sales in January were up inrnevery region of the country except the West which continues to be plagued byrnlimited inventories.</p

Existing sales of single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops,rnincreased 0.4 percent in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.92rnfrom a downwardly revised 4.90 million (from 4.94 million) in December.  Sales were 9.1 percent above the 4.51rnmillion-unit pace one year earlier. </p

Salesrnof single-family homes increased 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annualrnrate of 4.34 million from 4.33 million in December, and are 8.5 percent abovernthe 4.00 million-unit level in January 2012.  Existing condominium and co-op sales rose 1.8 percent to 580,000 fromrn570,000 in December, 13.7 percent higher than the 510,000-unit level a year earlier. </p

LawrencernYun, NAR chief economist, said tight inventory is a major factor in thernmarket.  “Buyer traffic is continuing to pick up, while seller traffic isrnholding steady,” he said.  “In fact, buyer traffic is 40 percent above arnyear ago, so there is plenty of demand but insufficient inventory to improvernsales more strongly.  We’ve transitioned into a seller’s market in much ofrnthe country.”</p

Total housing inventory at the endrnof January fell 4.9 percent to 1.74 million existing homes, a 4.2-month supplyrnat the current sales pace, down from 4.5 months in December.  This is the lowest housing supply since Aprilrn2005 when it was also 4.2 months.  Listedrninventory is 25.3 percent below a year ago when there was a 6.2-monthrnsupply.  Raw unsold inventory is at the lowest level since December 1999rnwhen there were 1.71 million homes on the market.</p

“We expect a seasonal rise ofrninventory this spring, but it may be insufficient to avoid more frequentrnincidences of multiple bidding and faster-than-normal price growth,” Yunrnexplained.</p

Thernnational median existing-home price for all housing types rose 12.3 percent to $173,600.  January was the 11th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases and was thernstrongest gain since November 2005 when prices had a 12.9 percent annualrnincrease.   The median existingrnsingle-family home price in January was $174,100 and the median condo price wasrn$169,600.  These prices representedrnannual increases of 12.6 percent and 9.4 percent respectively. </p

Foreclosures represented 14 percentrnof January sales and 9 percent were short sales.  This was down from an aggregate distressedrnsales share of 24 percent in December and 35 percent in January 2012. rnForeclosures sold for an average discount of 20 percent while short sales wererndiscounted 12 percent.</p

The median time on market for allrnhomes was 71 days in January, down from 73 days in December and 99 days inrnJanuary 2012.  Short sales were on the market for a median of 94 days,rnwhile foreclosures typically sold in 47 days and non-distressed homes took 75rndays; 31 percent of all homes sold in January were on the market for less thanrna month.</p

First-time buyers accounted for 30rnpercent of purchases in January, unchanged from December; and investors for 19rnpercent.  Twenty-eight percent ofrntransactions were cash sales compared to 29 percent in December.</p

Regionally,rnexisting-home sales in the Northeast increased 4.8 percent to an annual rate ofrn650,000 in January and are 12.1 percent above January 2012.  The median price in the Northeast wasrn$230,500, up 2.4 percent from a year ago.</p

Sales in thernMidwest rose 3.6 percent in January to a pace of 1.16 million and are 17.2rnpercent higher than a year ago.  The median price in the Midwest wasrn$131,800, which is 8.6 percent above January 2012.</p

Existing homernsales increased 1.0 percent in the South to an annual level of 1.96 million inrnJanuary and are 14.0 percent above January 2012.  The median price in the South wasrn$152,100, up 13.4 percent from a year ago.</p

Existing-homernsales in the West fell 5.7 percent to a pace of 1.15 million in January and arern5.7 percent below a year ago.  The median price in the West was $239,800,rnwhich is 26.6 percent above January 2012.</prn<prnrnrnrnrnrnrnrnrnrnrnrn

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