National Housing Market Gets Back in the Saddle

Browsing the Austin housing market now means shuffling through numerous listings labeled “pending,” especially in moderate priced neighborhoods like Milwood and Travis Country, a positive sign for our local market that things are continuing to improve as more people shop for real estate. The national market seems to be following Austin’s lead. According to Chief Economist for Stewart Title, Ted C. Jones, “The housing market finally is signaling improvement in the increased number of sales, declining months’ inventory and static prices. And this is all good news.”

The national rate of existing home sales in March saw a significant decline in the inventory of homes available for sale, which is a huge gain for the price of homes and the luck of home sellers.  The inventory in March was 6.7 months, and was down a substantial 24.7% from the same month in 2011 (8.9 months).

“Austin has seen a similar pattern,” said Regent Property Group founder and Austin realtor Brian Talley. “The number of homes on the market is declining as homes are selling faster. This means home sellers have something to smile about, and home buyers have a bit more incentive to go ahead and invest in a new home.”

The National Association of Realtors also reported that sales in March 2012 were up 5.2% from March 2011. The national housing market is officially in a recovery mode. Other good news is that home values have stabilized.  While the 12-month moving average of median home prices is still down 26.7% from the peak in July 2008, the latest 12-month moving average is essentially unchanged in the past four months.  Talley states, “It’s fair to say that U.S. home values have stabilized, and I expect them to remain relatively static for the next six months, which is good for both the national and the local economies.”