Realtor.com® Report: 2014 Real estate property Starts Strong

The polar vortex is proving for being no sweat for home buyers, based on the latest National Housing Trend Report from realtor.com®.

Despite severe winter weather conditions nationally, the 2014 real estate property season got off and away to a good start having a year-over-year rise in inventory and sustained growth in home values.

The median list price for January rose 8.3 percent compared to the same time this past year, using the realtor.com® data. The amount of properties for sale was up 3.1 percent. And the median age of inventory was essentially unchanged, indicating a transition to a “less frenzied market” than in January 2013.

The solid start “is an encouraging sign of sellers’ interest, particularly given the adverse conditions caused by the polar vortex,” said Errol Samuelson, president of realtor.com®. “We got the tight-supply market of last fall carry all the way up into November — later than is often expected — and also this early surge in inventory is usually a welcome trend.”

Looking ahead, the nation's median existing home cost is projected to increase about 5 percent to percent in 2014, according to the National Association of REALTORS®, which cites job growth and large, pent-up demand as drivers with the market see how to avoid of rising mortgage rates.

The California, Detroit and Nevada markets still top the list of areas with the largest year-over-year increases in median list prices, boasting increases of 20 percent or even more.

Though the polar vortex took a toll using some regions of the nation. Strong markets hit hard by winter months — such as Boston, Chicago and Detroit — saw around ten percent month-over-month declines in inventory. Once cold months subsides, however, these markets may go through a substantial recovery, realtor.com® analysts said.

National Perspective

Inventory increasing: For the national level, for-sale inventories are 3.1 percent greater than we were holding recently, and the rise in inventory is spreading to more markets nationally. In January 2013, just eight markets out from the 146 registered increases in inventory. This January, 83 from the 143 markets tracked by realtor.com (58 percent) showed increases in inventory, year over year. As the next couple of months are going to be critical to watch, these trends suggest an even more balanced housing sector commencing the 2014 real estate property season.

Price increases more widespread: Median list price rose proper 8.3 percent in January 2014 in comparison to the same time recently. In January 2014, 44 markets saw year-over-year list price increases of 10 percent or maybe more, in comparison with January 2013, when 24 markets registered double-digit increases in median list price. How many declining markets in terms of median list price dropped from 58 in January 2013 to simply 13 in January 2014.

Days on market stabilizing: Median chronilogical age of inventory remained steady in January 2014 in comparison to the same time recently, at 115 days. However, how many 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, compared to just nine markets in January 2013.

Local Market Highlights

California, Detroit and Nevada markets continue to dominate the list of areas experiencing the largest year-over-year increases in median list prices, with increases of twenty percent or higher.

Entering into the spring months, you have to watch out for markets using a possible resurgence, like Denver, Boulder, Chicago and Corpus Christi, TX, where depressed inventories happen to be followed by large year-over-year gains in median list prices. Sustained low inventories over these markets could to lead to demand-driven housing price increases that characterized California and most in the sand states in 2013.

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

Realtor.com® regularly tracks real estate data and develops monthly reports featuring the amount of listings, median era of inventory and median list price over the U.S. and in specific markets, along with provides year-over-year and month-over-month changes. These reports are classified as the only ones pulled straight from the realtor.com® database, where 90 percent of listings are updated every fifteen minutes from more(a) 800 MLSs. We regularly review increase historical data as a way to provide the most accurate and comprehensive market information available. More resources for Move, please go to www.move.com a treadmill of the many online real property properties including realtor.com®.