Home prices are continuing to show early signs of stabilizing.  The February median sales price of $250,000 was an increase from a year ago of 1.7 percent.

Extremely low mortgage rates have combined with the price declines of recent years to create an attractive environment for buyers.  The Housing Affordability Index in February of 149 is another near-record, and is up dramatically from the low point seen a few years back.

Market-Indicators-Feb-2010

The increase in sales has led to stabilizing home prices.  January’s median sales price of $246,000 was 1.6 percent lower than a year ago.  While that’s still a decline, it’s a much smaller decline than we’ve seen in some time.

The Months Supply of Inventory in the region has dropped to 5.3, down 36.0 percent from the mark of 8.2 seen a year ago.

Market-Indicators-Jan-2010

Supply was a different story in 2009 as the 192,147 new listings represented a drop of 14.7 percent from 2008.

Strong sales and falling supply have helped bring the Months Supply of Inventory down to 5.7, a decline of 36.5 percent from a year ago and a sign that the market is moving slowly back towards equilibrium.

Market Indicators-Dec-2009

There were 8,732 signed purchase agreements during the month, up 33.8 percent from a year ago.

All the sales activity is combining with falling inventory to stabilize housing prices.  The November median sales price was down only 1.9 percent from a year ago to $255,000, the lowest year-over-year decline in home prices since 2007.

Market Indicators-Nov-2009

With the home buyer tax credit extended and expanded, we can expect that first-time home buyer activity will remain strong, but don’t bank on the same blockbuster numbers we saw this year.  If you were a potential first-time home buyer who was qualified to purchase in 2009, odds are pretty dang good that you already bought.  The fact that the income limits have been raised for eligibility does help since it widens the credit’s availability.

The $6,500 credit for second-home buyers will spur some sellers in the low-to-mid price ranges to put their homes on the market who had previously been on the fence.  New listings will likely increase this winter and into early 2010 as a result.

Market Indicators-October-2009

Good news for sellers:  the Average Days on Market Until Sale is now shrinking and the Percent of Original List Price Received at Sale is now growing.  This is a direct result of the fact that the Months Supply of Inventory has shrunk from 10.0 to 6.4 in the last year.

Market Indicators-September-2009

Home prices continue to post year-over-year declines, but the drops have not been as extreme as those experienced in the earlier months of this year.  The August median sales price of $275,000 is a decline of 6.6 percent from a year ago.  Previous months have seen double-digit percentage declines.

Market Indicators-August-2009

The overall median sales price continues to decline relative to one year ago as heavy activity in the lower price ranges skews the overall number downward.

Homes are selling quicker in 2009 than they did in 2008: the year-to-date Average Days on Market Until Sale of 110 is a 4.5 percent decrease from the same period last year.

Market Indicators Report – July 2009

Sales prices continue to fall as a higher share of homes sold are foreclosures and short sales.  The June median sales price of $280,000 was a drip of 11.1 percent from last June.

In the “good news for sellers” category, both the Average Days on Market Until Sale and the Percent of Original List Price Received at Sale metrics appear to have bottomed out and are starting to slowly head back in the right direction.

Market Indicators Report – June 2009

Unfortunately, as we’ve mentioned before, the jump in pending sales over the last few months is not translating to a similar jump in closed sales.  Closed sales for May were actually 4.3 percent lower than last year.  Year to date closed sales are down 1.7 percent from last year.  Clear indicators that more sales are getting stuned somewhere between the acceptance of an offer and the final closing table.

The overall median sales price remains in decline due to increased market share of foreclosures and short sales.

Market Indicators Report – May 2009