Realtor.com® Report: 2014 Real estate Starts Strong

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

Despite severe cold months conditions nationwide, the 2014 real estate property season got to a good start which has a year-over-year improvement in inventory and sustained growth in home values.

The median list price for January rose 8.3 percent than the same time a year ago, good realtor.com® data. The number of properties available for sale was up 3.1 percent. And also the median day of inventory was essentially unchanged, indicating a transition into a “less frenzied market” in comparison to January 2013.

The solid start “is definitely an encouraging sign of sellers’ interest, particularly given the adverse conditions brought on by the polar vortex,” said Errol Samuelson, president of realtor.com®. “We were treated to the tight-supply market of last fall carry entirely into November — later than is often expected — and this early boost in inventory is really a welcome trend.”

Looking ahead, the nation's median existing home expense is projected to go up about 5 percent to percent in 2014, good National Association of REALTORS®, which cites job growth and enormous, pent-up demand as drivers in the market learn how to of rising mortgage rates.

The California, Detroit and Nevada markets still top their email list of areas using the largest year-over-year increases in median list prices, boasting increases of twenty percent or more.

Though the polar vortex took a toll in certain aspects of the world. Strong markets hit hard by winter months — for example Boston, Chicago and Detroit — saw nearly 10 % month-over-month declines in inventory. Once winter weather subsides, however, these markets may go through a solid recovery, realtor.com® analysts said.

National Perspective

Inventory increasing: For the national level, for-sale inventories at the moment are 3.1 percent higher than we were looking at last year, plus the improvement in inventory is spreading to more markets across the nation. In January 2013, just eight markets from the 146 registered increases in inventory. This January, 83 on the 143 markets tracked by realtor.com (58 percent) showed increases in inventory, year over year. As the next month or two will be critical to look at, these trends suggest an increasingly balanced housing industry visiting the 2014 real estate property season.

Price increases more widespread: Median list price rose a normal 8.3 % in January 2014 in comparison to the same time last year. 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. The amount of declining markets regarding 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 when compared to the same time recently, 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, when compared with just nine markets in January 2013.

Local Market Highlights

California, Detroit and Nevada markets carry on and dominate the list of areas exceptional largest year-over-year increases in median list prices, with increases of twenty percent or maybe more.

Stepping into the spring months, it is important to wait for markets having a possible resurgence, such as Denver, Boulder, Chicago and Corpus Christi, TX, where depressed inventories are already accompanied with large year-over-year gains in median list prices. Sustained low inventories during these markets could to guide to demand-driven housing price increases that characterized California and the majority from the sand states in 2013.

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

Realtor.com® regularly tracks real estate property data and develops monthly reports featuring how many listings, median age of inventory and median list price across the U.S. and specific markets, along with provides year-over-year and month-over-month changes. These reports will be the only ones pulled from the realtor.com® database, where 90 percent of listings are updated every quarter-hour from greater than 800 MLSs. We regularly review increase historical data so as to give you the most accurate and comprehensive market information available. More resources for Move, go to www.move.com a treadmill of the many online real property properties including realtor.com®.