For the first time in 2014, home sales reached a level higher than one year ago. Following an expected seasonal trend, September home sales were 10.4 percent lower than sales in August. However, sales pushed past the mark set in September 2013 by 0.9 percent. Sales throughout 2014 remained just below those in 2013, but finally in September sales inched above those one year ago. The Median Sales Price of all homes sold in the 52 metropolitan areas surveyed in September was $195,000, which was 5.4 percent higher than the median price last September. Prices in 2014 followed a rising trend, but at a slower rate than the double digit increases experienced in 2013. The inventory of homes for sale was 5.8 percent lower than last year. At the rate of home sales in September, the Months Supply of Inventory rose to 4.9 on a scale where 6.0 indicates a market balanced equally between buyers and sellers.
“It’s significant that September was the first month this year to see higher sales than last year,” says Margaret Kelly, RE/MAX, LLC CEO. “This demonstrates that there are interested buyers and the market is strong enough to rival last year’s brisk sales. While the change of seasons usually sees reduced sales, it’s good to see that home prices continue to rise at a more sustainable rate.”
In the 52 metro areas surveyed in September for the RE/MAX National Housing Report, the number of home sales dropped 10.4 percent below the sales in August, but rose 0.9 percent higher than September 2013 sales. September is the first month in
2014 to experience a higher number of home sales than the same month in 2013. In August, only four of the 52 metros survey reported higher sales, but in September 32 metros recorded higher sales than one year ago.
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