It’s been a little while since we looked at the leading indicators that affect the housing market. I always like to start with prices of existing homes. I’m going to share some information from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and then we’ll look at the Case Shiller.
Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist, said that there is some volatility in price performance. “Home prices are more volatile than normal because of sudden upswings in buyer activity in some localities and also are affected by the prevalence of distressed sales. Home prices lag sales activity because the transactions were negotiated mostly in the previous quarter. Given the steadily dwindling supply of inventory and notably higher listing prices that are being negotiated today, prices are expected to show further improvements in the near future.”
Low inventory is a large part of what is driving prices in some areas. We really see this being an issue in the lower to mid priced homes. Surprisingly inventory in the Western states is very tight right now. This is good for owners and banks that have been waiting to sell. This is however… Continue Reading
