Realtor.com® Report: 2014 Home Buying Starts Strong

The polar vortex is proving for being no sweat for home buyers, based on the latest National Housing Trend Report from realtor.com®.

Despite severe cold months conditions nationwide, the 2014 real estate season got off to an excellent start that has a year-over-year surge in inventory and sustained development in home values.

The median list price for January rose 8.3 percent than the same time recently, good realtor.com® data. The amount of properties on the market was up 3.1 percent. Along with the median ages of inventory was essentially unchanged, indicating a transition into a “less frenzied market” compared with January 2013.

The solid start “is usually an encouraging sign of sellers’ interest, particularly given the adverse conditions due to the polar vortex,” said Errol Samuelson, president of realtor.com®. “We saw the tight-supply market of last fall carry the whole way into November — later than is often expected — and this also early boost in inventory is a welcome trend.”

Looking ahead, the nation's median existing home prices are projected to rise about 5 percent in order to six percent in 2014, in line with the National Association of REALTORS®, which cites job growth and large, pent-up demand as drivers with the market learn how to of rising mortgage rates.

The California, Detroit and Nevada markets continue to top their email list of areas with the largest year-over-year increases in median list prices, boasting increases of 20 % or even more.

However the polar vortex took a toll in some elements of the world. Strong markets hit hard by cold months — including Boston, Chicago and Detroit — saw as much as 10 percent month-over-month declines in inventory. Once the winter season subsides, however, these markets may go through a solid recovery, realtor.com® analysts said.

National Perspective

Inventory increasing: In the national level, for-sale inventories at the moment are 3.1 percent higher than we were looking at this past year, and also the increase in inventory is spreading to more markets across the nation. In January 2013, just eight markets out of your 146 registered increases in inventory. This January, 83 in the 143 markets tracked by realtor.com (58 percent) showed increases in inventory, annually. As you move the next month or two is going to be critical to look at, these trends suggest a far more balanced housing business entering the 2014 property season.

Price increases more widespread: Median list price rose a normal 8.3 % in January 2014 when compared to same time recently. In January 2014, 44 markets saw year-over-year list price increases of ten percent and up, when compared with January 2013, when 24 markets registered double-digit increases in median list price. The amount of declining markets with regard to median list price dropped from 58 in January 2013 to just 13 in January 2014.

Days on market stabilizing: Median era of inventory remained steady in January 2014 in comparison to the same time not too long ago, at 115 days. However, how many markets showing year-over-year declines in inventory has dropped significantly, from 133 markets in January 2013 to 78 markets in January 2014. Meanwhile, 56 markets showed year-over-year increases in inventory in January 2014, when compared with just nine markets in January 2013.

Local Market Highlights

California, Detroit and Nevada markets continue to dominate the list of areas that great largest year-over-year increases in median list prices, with increases of 20 % or even more.

Coming into the spring months, you will need to wait for markets that has a possible resurgence, including Denver, Boulder, Chicago and Corpus Christi, TX, where depressed inventories happen to be followed by large year-over-year gains in median list prices. Sustained low inventories in these markets could to lead to demand-driven housing price increases that characterized California and many with the sand states in 2013.

Strong markets particularly worth noting as those worst hit by climate-driven troubles include Boston using a 10.9 percent month-over-month inventory decline, Chicago which has a 6.1 percent inventory drop, Denver which has a striking 13.5 percent inventory decline, Detroit which has a 6.8 percent reduction, Nyc with a 9.5 percent decline, and Philadelphia by having an 8.2 percent decline. These markets may experience notable inventory recovery after prohibitive weather conditions subside.

Realtor.com® regularly tracks property data and develops monthly reports featuring the volume of listings, median chronilogical age of inventory and median list price through the U.S. and specific markets, together with provides year-over-year and month-over-month changes. These reports are the only ones pulled completely from the realtor.com® database, where 90 percent of listings are updated every 15 minutes from greater than 800 MLSs. We regularly review and update historical data as a way to provide the most accurate and comprehensive market information available. For more information on Move, please visit www.move.com or one of the many online real estate properties including realtor.com®.