Realtor.com® Report: 2014 Home Buying Starts Strong

The polar vortex is proving to get no sweat for home buyers, in line with the latest National Housing Trend Report from realtor.com®.

Despite severe winter months conditions nationwide, the 2014 real estate season got off and away to a good beginning having a year-over-year boost in inventory and sustained growth in home prices.

The median list price for January rose 8.3 % in comparison to the same time this past year, using the realtor.com® data. The quantity of properties for sale was up 3.1 percent. As well as the median ages of inventory was essentially unchanged, indicating a transition to some “less frenzied market” when compared to January 2013.

The solid start “is surely an encouraging sign of sellers’ interest, particularly given the adverse conditions attributable to the polar vortex,” said Errol Samuelson, president of realtor.com®. “We got the tight-supply market of last fall carry completely into November — later than is commonly expected — and this also early rise in inventory is a welcome trend.”

Looking ahead, the national median existing home prices are projected to go up about 5 percent to 6 percent in 2014, according to the National Association of REALTORS®, which cites job growth and large, pent-up demand as drivers from the market see how to avoid of rising mortgage rates.

The California, Detroit and Nevada markets still top the list of areas while using the largest year-over-year increases in median list prices, boasting increases of 20 % or higher.

But the polar vortex took a toll in most areas of the united states. Strong markets hit hard by cold weather — including Boston, Chicago and Detroit — saw approximately 10 % month-over-month declines in inventory. Once cold months subsides, however, these markets may go through a strong recovery, realtor.com® analysts said.

National Perspective

Inventory increasing: In the national level, for-sale inventories at the moment are 3.1 percent higher than these folks were this past year, as well as the surge in inventory is spreading to more markets nationally. In January 2013, just eight markets from the 146 registered increases in inventory. This January, 83 from the 143 markets tracked by realtor.com (58 percent) showed increases in inventory, annually. While next month or two are going to be critical to watch, these trends suggest an even more balanced housing industry entering the 2014 real estate season.

Price increases more widespread: Median list price rose a healthy 8.3 percent in January 2014 when compared to same time not too long ago. In January 2014, 44 markets saw year-over-year list price increases of 10 % or higher, as compared to January 2013, when 24 markets registered double-digit increases in median list price. The volume of declining markets in terms of median list price dropped from 58 in January 2013 to merely 13 in January 2014.

Days on market stabilizing: Median ages of inventory remained steady in January 2014 than the same time a year ago, at 115 days. However, the volume of markets showing year-over-year declines in inventory has dropped significantly, from 133 markets in January 2013 to 78 markets in January 2014. Meanwhile, 56 markets showed year-over-year increases in inventory in January 2014, as compared to just nine markets in January 2013.

Local Market Highlights

California, Detroit and Nevada markets keep dominate the list of areas that great largest year-over-year increases in median list prices, with increases of 20 % or more.

Coming into the spring months, it is very important watch for markets having a possible resurgence, for instance Denver, Boulder, Chicago and Corpus Christi, TX, where depressed inventories happen to be along with large year-over-year gains in median list prices. Sustained low inventories of these markets could to lead to demand-driven housing price increases that characterized California and quite a few of the sand states in 2013.

Strong markets particularly worth noting as those worst hit by climate-driven troubles include Boston having a 10.9 percent month-over-month inventory decline, Chicago with a 6.1 percent inventory drop, Denver using a striking 13.5 percent inventory decline, Detroit having a 6.8 percent reduction, Nyc with a 9.5 percent decline, and Philadelphia with an 8.2 percent decline. These markets may go through notable inventory recovery after prohibitive varying weather condotions subside.

Realtor.com® regularly tracks real-estate data and develops monthly reports featuring the quantity of listings, median chronilogical age of inventory and median list price over the U.S. and specific markets, and also provides year-over-year and month-over-month changes. These reports will be the only ones pulled completely from the realtor.com® database, where 90 % of listings are updated every fifteen minutes from in excess of 800 MLSs. We regularly review and update historical data so that you can supply the most accurate and comprehensive market information available. For additional info on Move, kindly visit www.move.com or one of that many online real-estate properties including realtor.com®.