NAR: Existing Home Sales Up 4.5%, Prices Rise 7.9%

 

 

The National Association of Realtors existing home sales report -- with data through June 2012 -- was released July 19.  Existing-home sales are completed transactions for the month prior; new construction is excluded from review. Data includes all property types: single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the big story is low inventory and price recovery. "Despite the frictions related to obtaining mortgages, buyer interest remains solid. But inventory continues to shrink and that is limiting buying opportunities. This, in turn, is pushing up home prices in many markets".

NAR President Moe Veissi, said "Buyer traffic has virtually doubled from last fall."  "The very favorable market conditions are helping to unleash a pent-up demand, which is why housing supplies have tightened and are supporting growth in home prices. Nonetheless, incorrectly priced homes will not attract buyers."

 

Nationwide

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $189,400 in June, up 7.9% from a year ago. This marks four back-to-back monthly price increases from a year earlier, which last occurred in February to May of 2006. June's gain was the strongest since February 2006 when the median price rose 8.7% from a year prior.

 

• Single-family home sales are 4.8% above June 2011. The median existing single-family home price was $190,100 in June, up 8.0% from a year ago.

 
• Condominium and co-op are 2.2% higher than a year ago. The median existing condo price was $183,200 in June, which is 6.9% above June 2011.

Region

• Northeast - Existing-home sales rose 1.9% above June 2011.
• Midwest - Sales are 14.6% higher than a year ago.
• South - Sales are 5.5% above June 2011.
• West - Sales dropped 3.6% below a year ago.

 

Local Perspective

 
RealEstate Business Intelligence housing data -- released July 10 --  reports the following changes in the local housing market:

• Median sale price for the Washington Metro Area has reached $400,000 for the first time since June of 2008.  The increase marks a rise of 5.3% compared to June 2011 and the fifth consecutive month of year-over-year gains.
  
  
• In the District alone the median sales price reached $455,000 last month, topping a peak of $438,500 not seen since 2006. June prices in DC rose 4.6% from June 2011.
  
  
• Sales in the Washington Metro Area rose 5.7% from June 2011, the third consecutive month with year-over-year gain in sales.
  
  
• Active listings in the Washington DC Metro Area in June was a historic low: 33.2% below June 2011.  Low inventory continues to put upward pressure on prices, causing average days-on-market and sale-to-list ratios to tighten. 

  

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