Columbia SC homes are selling more quickly than they were a year ago. That, according to a recent report from Zillow.
The article in Propertywire shows the median time Columbia SC homes spent on the market in September was just eighty six days, a reduction of thirty days compared to the September of the previous year when homes took 116 days to sell.
All thirty of the large metro areas covered in the Zillow report saw a faster rate of home sales than in the previous September, not just Columbia SC homes.
Data from Zillow takes into account that homes can be listed, removed from the listings and re-posted with new prices, and considers multiple listings that have occurred within 40 days for the same address as being just one listing. Their data shows that since the beginning of 2010, homes throughout the US have spent an average of 119 days being listed through Zillow before they are either removed from the market or sold.
Don't Get Caught in a Bidding War for Columbia SC Homes
In a separate report from the National Association of Realtors, more people are searching online for their new home. More than half of buyers start looking for a new property online, and just under half actually find the property they'll eventually purchase in this way. During the search for a new home, some 92% will have looked online at some point in the process.
Even though Columbia SC homes are moving more quickly, experts caution against entering into bidding wars or paying over the odds for property. They point out that buyers need to be prepared to move quickly through having pre-approved mortgages, but expect this need to gradually reduce as inventory levels increase and more new construction takes place.
Now more than ever, you need to have a broker on your side when looking for Columbia SC homes.
For continuous news as it may affect Columbia SC homes and home prices, click the Columbia SC Real Estate News link to your right under our Columbia SC Real Estate Categories.
Columbia SC home sales in August reached their highest point in more than six years, but don't expect this upward trend to continue.
That's the word from the National Association of Realtors, which reports sales of single-family homes, town homes and condominiums rose 1.7 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.48 million. That's the highest pace since February of 2007.
"Rising mortgage interest rates pushed more buyers to close deals" in August, said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.
Monthly Columbia SC home sales are likely to be uneven in the months ahead from several market frictions. Tight inventory is limiting choices in many areas, higher mortgage interest rates mean affordability isn't as favorable as it was, and restrictive mortgage lending standards are keeping some otherwise qualified buyers from completing a purchase.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke cited higher mortgage interest rates as one reason why the Fed decided now wasn't the time for the central bank to start tapering its bond purchases.
The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose from 4.37 percent in July to 4.46 percent in August, the highest since July of 2011, according to Freddie Mac.
The good news for the Columbia SC housing market is that the national median price for existing homes was $212,000 in August. That's up 14.7 percent from August 2012, the biggest year-over-year price jump since October of 2005. Also, foreclosures and short sales accounted for only 12 percent of sales in August, the lowest share since NAR started tracking them in October of 2008.
Columbia SC home sales rose in July to their highest level in over three years, with year-over-year prices again showing double-digit gains.
Rising interest rates as well as rising prices are expected to tamp down both prices and the number of Columbia SC home sales in coming months, as homes get less affordable. The shortage of homes for sale, particularly for first-time buyers, continues in many areas.
"Mortgage interest rates are at the highest level in two years, pushing some buyers off the sidelines," Lawrence Yun, the NAR's chief economist, said in a news release. "The initial rise in interest rates provided strong incentive for closing deals. However, further rate increases will diminish the pool of eligible buyers."
For the buyer of a median-price house who puts 20% down, mortgage rate increases since May have raised the monthly payment by about $100.
The risk is that last month's gains in demand may prove temporary, and driven by buyers who rushed to lock in a home before interest rates went up.
The national median home price, including single-family and condos, was $213,500. That's 13.7% above the national median price a year ago and only 7.3% below the peak of $230,400 in July 2006.
More Inventory Should Help Columbia SC Home Sales
Columbia SC home sales should benefit from the fact that the number of homes for sale continue to increase as more and more potential sellers hit the market. The average supply at the current rate of sales stands at 5.1 months.
The key for the economy is whether the stronger market, coupled with a continued shortage of homes for sale, will prompt home builders to step up construction and add jobs. Moody's Analytics says a jump from less than 1 million new homes a year to 1.7 million, which it considers the underlying level of demand for newly built housing, could add more than 3 million jobs by 2015.
Distressed homes continued to make up a smaller percentage of Columbia SC home sales, one of the factors that is driving up median prices, since foreclosures and short sales sell at a discount. In July, distressed homes were 15% of sales, down from 24% a year ago.
All-cash Columbia SC home sales continued to be a strong factor, making up 31% of the deals, up from 27% a year ago.
Existing Columbia SC home sales climbed to a 3 and a half year high in April, and all indications are they will continue to climb in May and June. However, rising interest rates are the concern now.
Along with Columbia SC home sales, Columbia SC home prices continued to climb with the S&P/Case-Shiller monthly home price indices for March (which actually covers the three month average of January, February and March prices) showing double-digit annual increases over the same period a year ago.
Economists, however, are still cautiously bullish for two main reasons. First is the fact that near-record low mortgage rates have made home buying more affordable. The second is all the pent-up demand in the housing market after years of sluggish sales.
For the latest on Columbia SC home sales news and other news that affects the Columbia SC area real estate market, check out the other Columbia SC Real Estate News under Columbia SC Real Estate Categories to your right.
Columbia SC home sales in March continued to show signs of improvement, in spite of the tight housing supply that is plaguing the market. Home sales are somewhat stuck due to the limited number of homes available to buy, which is somewhere near 17 percent below year-ago levels.
Some home owners are still hesitant to sell, noticing the recent price increases and hoping for more.
The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 1.5 percent to 105.7 in March from a downwardly revised 104.1 in February, and is 7.0 percent above March 2012 when it was 98.8. Pending sales have been above year-ago levels for the past 23 months; the data reflect contracts but not closings.
An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year to be examined. By coincidence, the volume of existing-home sales in 2001 fell within the range of 5.0 to 5.5 million, which is considered normal for the current U.S. population.
Columbia SC Home Sales May Decline In Future Months
Columbia SC home sales are listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing, so this would usually be for closed sales in April and May.
With limited inventory at the low end and fewer foreclosures, we might see flat or even declining existing Columbia SC home sales. The key is that the number of conventional sales is increasing while foreclosures and short sales decline – and that is a sign of an improving market, even if total sales decline.
The national median existing-home price is forecast to rise nearly 7 percent this year, while mortgage interest rates should remain historically low, but trend up slowly and reach 4 percent in the fourth quarter. The housing shortage is expected to continue, which means this cycle of price increases and lower inventory may go on for some time to come.
For more on news as it affects Columbia SC home sales, check out the Columbia SC Real Estate News section under Columbia SC Real Estate Categories in the column to your right.