Realtor Group: Seller's Market Developing
Existing home sales ticked up in January and home prices continued a steady increase, creating signs of a seller's market, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Existing home sales, completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums, increased 9.1 percent in January over 2012, to 4.92 million. Sales were up 0.9 percent from a downwardly revised 4.9 million in December.
The West was the only region of the country that saw a decline in sales in January, while the Northeast was third best behind the Midwest and South.
Existing home sales in the Northeast were up 12.1 percent over January 2012, to 650,000. The median price was $230,500, up 2.4 percent from a year ago.
Meanwhile, total inventory at the end of January hit the lowest since April 2005 with 1.74 million existing homes on the market.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said tight inventory is a major factor.
"Buyer traffic is continuing to pick up, while seller traffic is holding steady," he said. "In fact, buyer traffic is 40 percent above a year ago, so there is plenty of demand but insufficient inventory to improve sales more strongly. We've transitioned into a seller's market in much of the country."
Yun said a seasonal increase in inventory is expected in the spring, but that it might not be enough to avoid multiple bids on the same house and, in turn, a faster-than-normal price growth.
Nationally, the median home price was $173,600 in January, up 12.3 percent from January 2012. It was the 11th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases, which hadn't occurred since July 2005 to May 2006. The January gain was the strongest since November 2004, when prices were 12.9 percent above the previous year's.
NAR President Gary Thomas said the average home is selling nearly four weeks earlier than it did a year ago.
The median time on the market for all homes was 71 days in January, down from 73 in December and is 28.3 percent below 99 days in January 2012.
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