- April home sales data show that about 40 percent of all existing homes in the US are sold in the South. At the current seasonally adjusted sales rate, that’s more than 2 million a year.
- For decades, the South has had the largest number of housing units and owner-occupied housing units. As the South’s share of population has increased over the last decade, so too has its contribution to home sales nationally.
- While all regions showed year over year sales growth in the data released today, the South showed the strongest growth at around 15% which helped boost national sales growth to nearly 10 percent above one year ago.
- By price, the South is the 3rd most expensive compared to other regions with an April 2013 median price of $168,700. From one year ago, the median price of homes sold in the South has jumped more than 10 percent, but affordability remains high. According to March data, the median income family earns nearly twice what is needed to qualify to purchase the median priced home[1].
- The South can be broken down further into 3 Census divisions which include the South Atlantic, East South Central, and West South Central.
[1] For details see NAR’s Housing Affordability Index Release: http://www.realtor.org/topics/housing-affordability-index
- Foot traffic can give a strong indication of future home sales. SentriLock, LLC. provides NAR Research with monthly data on the number of showings.
- Foot traffic in the area covered by the Coronado Association of REALTORS® (San Diego, CA) has been consistently weaker than the prior year in each of the last 13 months.
- The year-over-year declines reflect an extremely tight level of inventory, which inhibits home visits.
- Regardless, traffic is robust and will likely result in strong sales later this year spring, but down from last year’s level as agents can’t sell inventory that is not on the market.
- Record mortgage rates coupled with stabilizing prices and steadily growing employment is helping to drive this trend.
- Foot traffic provides a strong indication of future home sales. SentriLock, LLC. provides NAR Research with monthly data on the number of showings.
- Foot traffic during March in the area covered by the Jackson County Board of REALTORS® (Northern Alabama) outpaced the level of foot traffic from a year ago by 28%. This figure is strong, but not as strong as the 103% 12-month increase registered in October.
- Regardless, foot traffic remains robust after nearly a year of year-over-year gains pointing to continued strong sales this spring.
- Record low mortgage rates, price growth, and steadily improving job creation have helped to buoy the market for more than a year.
- Strong homes sales in 2012 helped to diminish the number of borrowers rolling into distressed situations. The increase in sales eroded inventories resulting in steady price growth. As a result, more people were able to refinance into affordable situations or dispose of their properties prior to foreclosure.
- In terms of improved 90-day delinquency rates, the top 5 markets were Las Vegas, Riverside, Cape Coral, Phoenix and Miami. Clearly, markets in the sand states that were hit hardest during the housing recession experienced the strongest improvement.
- Of the bottom five markets, most were in the Northeast, including New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania (bottom portion of figure above). Most of these states have judicial processes for dealing with foreclosed properties.
- The longer timelines for disposition of properties in these areas has slowed the local market transitions and muted price corrections.
- More information on delinquency trends is available in the 4th quarter Local Market Reports. (member log in required)
Change in Personal Bankruptcies: 2012 vs. 2011