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According to the latest quarterly report from the National Association of Realtors, there are many metro areas that are seeing conditions that are balanced. According to Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, “Sales have risen strongly in lower price ranges from one year ago, while sales at the upper end remain sluggish.
“More importantly, we’re seeing a consistent trend of declining inventory, which means supply and demand conditions are becoming more balanced in more areas, which will help stabilize home prices.”
With regard to pricing, median existing single-family home prices rose in 29 out of 149 metro areas in the fourth quarter of last year. At present, the national median price was $163,500 for the quarter, which is down 4.2 percent from the prior year.
As noted by NAR, “Median price measurement reflects the types of homes that are selling during the quarter and can be skewed at times because the level of distressed sales, which artificially depress median prices, can vary notably in given markets. Annual price measures, also reported today, generally smooth out any quarterly swings.”
However, local trends are what rules real estate, with some regions experiencing slowing while others are going through a job growth spurt. The Midwest is where the most buying power is due to lower prices, with existing-home sales increasing 7.0 percent in the fourth quarter, which is 14.1 percent higher than last year.
NAR President Moe Veissi stated that, “Even with record high housing affordability conditions, all real estate is local.”
In broader terms, the national scope saw existing-home sales increased 5.9 percent in the fourth quarter, which is 9.2 percent above last year at this time, with NAR reporting all regions rising from third quarter levels.
Source: WSJ
Image by Horia Varlan
Labels: NAR, national association of realtors, Real Estate Sales