Home Sales in Major Markets Improving; Median Prices Increasing

Major metro areas are finally seeing an upswing in local housing markets, according to recent data released in these regions. Median list prices are also trending upward in these large U.S. cities, despite lower total inventory, supporting reports that the nationwide market is on the mend.

Austin 

Home sales in Austin, Texas, jumped by 23 percent from November 2011 to November 2012, according to the Austin Board of Realtors. November 2012 was also the 18th straight month of sales volume increases.

“The typical lull of the Thanksgiving holiday did not slow down the Austin real estate market,” said ABoR Former Chairman Leonard Guerrero. “This is the strongest November housing market we’ve seen since the recession.”

The median price in the Austin area also increased by 7 percent to $200,000 from November 2011 to November 2012. In addition, the market is tightening with just 1.5 months of supply of inventory in November 2011; a year prior there was 3 months of supply of inventory.

The market also featured 8 percent more new listings, 20 percent fewer active listings, and 19 percent more pending sales in November 2012 compared to the prior year. On average, homes
spent 67 days on the market, which is a decrease of 16 days from one year prior.

Chicago

Chicago (the nine-county Chicago area) saw a 36.2 percent increase in existing single-family home and condominium sales from November 2011 to November 2012, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors.

The median price increased from $149,900 to $155,000 during that same period, the IAR reported.

“All of the measurements we are seeing in this report point to a housing market that is not losing strength,” said Michael D. Oldenettel, President of the Illinois Association of REALTORS. “In
fact, we have seen a respectable momentum in a part of the year when the real estate business tends to slow down for the holidays.”

Nashville

Nashville, Tennessee, also experienced a healthy increase in existing home sales, jumping 21 percent from 1,773 closings in December 2011 to 2,147 closings in December 2012, according to the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors.

“All nine counties in our primary service area experienced significant increases in home sales, with many of them exceeding 20 percent for the year,” said GNAR President Price Lechleiter.

“And, modest increases in residential median prices were a clear trend throughout the region.”

Miami

The MIAMI Association of Realtors reports that the housing market there will set another record for 2012, exceeding sales levels at the height of the boom in 2005 and during the all-time record in 2011.

Miami home prices have increased each of the last 12 months, the association reported. The REALTORS attribute the increase to strong demand and very tight supply.

Miami-Dade County residential sales went up 23 percent in November year over year. Sales of existing condominiums in Miami-Dade increased 19.8 percent, from 1,139 to 1,365, while sales of single-family homes increased 26.2 percent, from 802 to 1,012.

Denver 

The Denver Business Journal reports that the sale of single-family homes continues to improve year after year, the average sales price is rising, and the amount of time a house is on the market has dropped by more than a month.

The December report from Metrolist Inc. shows there were 3,400 homes sold that month, an 8 percent drop from the number sold in November. Yet that’s an 8 percent increase from the number sold in December of 2011, the Business Journal reported.