Sales of Houses Rise, Market Stability: Re/Max
DENVER -- For the second consecutive month, sales of houses in April were higher than sales in the previous month, Re/Max, a national real estate chain says. While April sales were 10.9% higher than March, they were 7.8% below those in April 2013.
Only two of the 52 metro areas in the April Re/Max National Housing Report had lower sales than the previous month. Year-over-year house prices continued to push higher in April, with a 5.8% increase, which is lower than the 10.7% increase seen in April 2013.
While both credit availability and inventory remain tight, April became the 13th consecutive month with fewer inventory losses than the previous month. At the rate of house sales in April, the months-supply of inventory fell to 3.9; a supply of 6.0 indicates a market balanced equally between buyers and sellers.
"After the disruptions to the market at the beginning of the year, it's a good sign that sales have picked up and have now increased for two months in a row," said Margaret Kelley, CEO of Re/Max, in a prepared statement. "While sales and prices aren't growing at the rate they did last year, we still remain in a recovery with the market settling into a more sustainable growth pattern."
Sales of houses in April rose by an average of 10.9% over sales in March. However, sales were still 7.8% below a year ago, which is an improvement from the 10.1% drop in March from last year. In March, all 52 surveyed metro areas reported monthly sales increases, and that positive trend continued in April with 50 of the 52 metros showing sales increases from the previous month.
Atlanta saw a monthly sales decrease of 0.4% and Miami fell 0.5%. The greatest increases were seen in a range of geographic regions such as Richmond, Va. (+26.1%), Anchorage, Alaska ( +24.1%), Wichita, Kan. (+23.2%), New Orleans (+20.3%), Little Rock, Ark. (+19.9%) and San Francisco (+19.2%).
The April Re/Max national housing report surveyed data in 52 metropolitan areas and found the median sales price of all houses sold during the month to be $190,000. This price is 1.9% higher than the median price in March and 5.8% above the price last April. Year over year, the median sales price has risen 27 consecutive months, although price appreciation is not as rapid as it was in 2013.
For all the houses sold in April, the average days on market was 74, just three days less than the average of 77 in March and in April last year. April becomes the 23rd consecutive month with an average days on market less than 90. The low average continues to be associated with a low inventory of houses for sale.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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