DENVER, Feb. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --For the 7th straight month, home sales in January inched higher, rising 3.4% above the level seen last January. This data is based on a weighted average of 53 metropolitan areas surveyed for the RE/MAX National Housing Report. After an unexpected jump in sales at the end of 2011, January sales returned to a seasonal norm and were down on a monthly basis 19.3% from December. Perhaps due to falling foreclosure numbers, January was the 19th consecutive month that inventory levels dropped. The number of homes for sale last month was 24.1% lower than the number seen in January 2011. In the 53 metro areas, home prices were down only 0.8% from one year ago, building a trend of much anticipated price stabilization.
"This positive start to the year will hopefully set the tone for a continuing housing recovery that's drawing home buyers with low interest rates and low prices," said Margaret Kelly, CEO of RE/MAX, LLC. "If sales continue ahead of last year's pace and inventory does not increase significantly, we could start to see increasing home prices this year."
Transactions - Year-Over-Year Change
Home sales in December defied the odds and ended the year with an unexpected jump. Coming back into line with the usual seasonal trend, January sales dropped lower than December by 19.3%, but for the 7th straight month, home sales remained higher than sales in the same month of the previous year. The year-over-year increase in January was 3.4%. Of the 53 metro areas included in the January survey, 20 saw double-digit jumps from last year, and 36 experienced higher sales than January 2011, including: Albuquerque, NM +33.9%, Wilmington-Dover, DE +33.2%, Atlanta, GA +26.3%, Indianapolis, IN +19.6%, Providence, RI +19.6%, Nashville, TN +19.5%, Cleveland, OH +18.9% and Chicago, IL +15.3%.
Median Sales Price
For January, the Median Sales Price of sold homes in the 53 surveyed metros was $129,306. This price reflects a 3.4% drop from December, but is only 0.8% lower than the price seen in January 2011. January represents the 17th month of year-to-year home price declines, although this is the smallest decline since October 2010. In last month's survey, 15 metro areas showed price increases from January 2011, including: Miami, FL +23.8%, Orlando, FL +15.8%, Tampa, FL +15.6%, Phoenix, AZ +9.0%, Little Rock, AR +5.5% and Detroit, MI +5.1%.
Days on Market - Average of 54 Metro Areas
For homes sold in January, the average Days on Market was 103, which is 5 days higher than the 98-day average in December and 4 days higher than the average in January 2011. Only two months in 2011 saw a Days on Market average below 90: July and September both reported 88. Days on Market is the number of days between first being listed in an MLS and when a sales contract is signed.
Months Supply of Inventory - Average of 54 Metro Areas
For the month of January, the average inventory of homes for sale in the 53 surveyed metro areas dropped 4.2% from December and also dropped 24.1% from January 2011. Month-to month inventories have now fallen for 19 consecutive months. Given the current rate of sales, and the size of the active inventory, the resulting Months Supply is 7.3 months, half a month lower than the 7.8 month supply seen in December, but significantly lower than the 10.1 month supply reported in January 2011. Months Supply is the number of months it would take to clear a market's active inventory at the current rate of sales. A six-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.
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Description
The RE/MAX National Housing Report is distributed each month on or about the 15th. The first Report was distributed in August 2008.The Report is based on MLS data in approximately 54 metropolitan areas, includes all residential property types, and is not annualized.For maximum representation, many of the largest metro areas in the country are represented, and an attempt is made to include at least one metro from each state. Metro area definitions include the specific counties established by the U.S. Government's Office of Management and Budget, with some exceptions.
Definitions
Transactions are the total number of closed residential transactions during the given month. Month's Supply of Inventory is the total number of residential properties listed for sale at the end of the month (active inventory) divided by the number of sales contracts signed (pended) during the month. Where "pended" data is unavailable, this calculation is made using closed transactions. Days on Market is the number of days that pass from the time a property is listed until the property goes under contract for all residential properties sold during the month.Median Sales Price is the median price of all residential properties sold during the month.
MLS data is provided by contracted data aggregators, RE/MAX brokerages and regional offices. While MLS data is believed to be accurate, it cannot be guaranteed. MLS data is constantly being updated, making any analysis a snapshot at a particular time. Every month the RE/MAX National Housing Report re-calculates the previous period's data to ensure accuracy over time. All raw data remains the intellectual property of each local MLS organization.
SOURCE RE/MAX
