This spring\u2019s housing<\/a> mantra: Going, going, gone! \u201cSevere\u201d housing shortages are prompting existing homes to sell significantly faster this year, propelling home sales to the highest pace in more than a decade, the National Association of REALTORS\u00ae reported Friday.<\/p>\n Strong sales gains in the Northeast and Midwest were behind most of the nationwide 4.4 percent month-over-month increase in existing-home sales in March. The West was the only major region of the U.S. to see a modest decline in sales activity last month.<\/p>\n Regional Breakdown\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The following is a closer look at how existing-home sales performed across the country in March:<\/p>\n Source: National Association of REALTORS\u00ae<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe early returns so far this spring buying season look very promising as a rising number of households dipped their toes into the market and were successfully able to close on a home last month,\u201d says Lawrence Yun, NAR\u2019s chief economist. \u201cAlthough finding available properties to buy continues to be a strenuous task for many buyers, there was enough of a monthly increase in listings<\/a> in March for sales to muster a strong gain. Sales will go up as long as inventory does.\u201d<\/p>\n Total existing-home sales\u2014which include completed transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops\u2014reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.71 million in March. The sales pace is 5.9 percent above a year ago. Further, existing-home sales are now the strongest month of sales since February 2007 (5.79 million).<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a closer look at some of the key indicators from NAR\u2019s latest housing report, reflecting March housing numbers:<\/p>\n Home prices: <\/strong>The median existing-home price for all housing types was $236,400, up 6.8 percent from a year ago when it averaged $221,400.<\/p>\n Days on the market: <\/strong>Properties stayed on the market for an average of 34 days in March, down significantly from 47 days a year ago. Short sales took the longest to sell at a median of 90 days in March; foreclosures<\/a> sold in 52 days; and non-distressed homes took a median of 32 days\u2014which is the shortest length of time since NAR began tracking such data in May 2011. Forty-eight percent of homes sold in March were on the market for less than a month.<\/p>\n All-cash sales: <\/strong>All-cash transactions comprised 23 percent of sales in March, down from 25 percent a year ago. Individual investors make up the biggest bulk of cash sales. They purchased 15 percent of homes in March, up from 14 percent a year ago.<\/p>\n Distressed sales: <\/strong>Foreclosures and short sales made up 6 percent of existing-home sales in March, down from 8 percent a year ago. Broken out, 5 percent of sales in March were foreclosures and 1 percent were short sales. On average, foreclosures sold for a discount of 16 percent below market value; short sales were discounted an average of 14 percent.<\/p>\n Inventories:<\/strong> Housing inventory at the end of March rose 5.8 percent to 1.83 million existing homes available for sale. Inventory is 6.6 percent lower than a year ago (1.96 million). Unsold inventory is now at a 3.8-month supply at the current sales pace.<\/p>\n \u201cBolstered by strong consumer confidence and underlying demand, home sales are up convincingly from a year ago nationally and in all four major regions despite the fact that buying a home has gotten more expensive over the past year,\u201d Yun says.<\/p>\n Source: National Association of REALTORS\u00ae<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n [ad_2]\n
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