Foreclosures Down; Home sales UP

Great Summary of recent National Association Realtors data on the housing market.   You will want to read and be inspired.   Yes, it is time to buy and sell real estate again!!

Al Clark's Newsletter shared:

ALL REAL ESTATE IS LOCAL BUT THE NATIONAL SCENE IS IMPORTANT TOO!

CoreLogic Report Shows Home Prices Rise by 12.2 Percent Year Over Year in May Analysis Indicates Projected Growth of 13.2 Percent Year Over Year in June CoreLogic, a leading residential property information, analytics and services provider released its May CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI?) report. Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased 12.2 percent on a year-over-year basis in May 2013 compared to May 2012. Existing-Home Sales Rise in May with Strong Price Increases According  to the National Association of Realtors?: Total existing Home Sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 4.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.18 million in May from 4.97 million in April, Total housing inventory at the end of May rose 3.3 percent to 2.22 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 5.1-month supply at the current sales pace The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $208,000 in May, up 15.4 percent from May 2012.  This marks six straight months of double-digit increases and is the strongest price gain since October 2005 Eleven percent of May sales were foreclosures, and 7 percent were short sales.  Foreclosures sold for an average discount of 15 percent below market value in May, while short sales were discounted 12 percent. The median time on market for all homes was 41 days in May, down from 46 days in April, and is 43 percent faster than the 72 days on market in May 2012.  Short sales were on the market for a median of 79 days, while foreclosures typically sold in 43 days and non-distressed homes took 39 days. Forty-five percent of all homes sold in May were on the market for less than a month First-time buyers accounted for 28 percent of purchases in May, compared with 29 percent in April and 34 percent in May 2012. All-cash sales were at 33 percent of transactions in May, up from 32 percent in April and 28 percent in May 2012.  Individual investors, who account for many cash sales, purchased 18 percent of homes in May.