October 17 2013
SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 16, 2013 -- Realtor.com®, the leader in online real estate operated by Move, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOVE), today released the realtor.com® National Housing Trend Report for September 2013. The proprietary report is aggregated from real-time listing counts through direct relationships with more than 800 multiple listing services (MLSs) around the country, representing 98 percent of all for-sale properties in the U.S.
The report highlights a strong continuation of equilibrium-oriented trends identified last month. While key indicators show a relatively consistent pace with August figures, the year-over-year perspective shows a strong performance in median list price and decline in days on market, which signal a dramatic rebalancing compared to the beginning of this year. A return to year-ago inventory levels, though steadying, still implies broad housing shortage conditions.
"Our September data on inventory counts, median list prices, and median time on market has shown another month of steady leveling, but the recovery certainly remains uneven in some pockets," said Errol Samuelson, president of realtor.com®. "Some of the more industrial-based markets clearly continue to struggle, yet others are showing significant price gains over this time last year. While we are pleased to see a continued trend toward a healthy market balance, imminent economic factors could pose a significant threat to these improvements."
The total U.S. for-sale inventory of single-family homes, condos, townhomes and co-ops declined slightly in September to a total of 1,944,018 units, down 1.68 percent from August. However, after six consecutive months of steady growth, inventories are now just 2.04 percent lower than they were one year ago—a dramatic turnaround compared to earlier this year that signals a greater balance between demand and supply.
The median age of inventory rose slightly in September from 92 to 93 days, but is down by 10.58 percent on a year-over-year basis, suggesting that properties continue to turn over quickly, despite the end of the traditional home buying season. The median list price fell slightly in September, but remains 6.40 percent higher than it was one year ago.
Of particular note in September's figures are a handful of markets showing very fast-paced sales cycles, some at roughly half of the national median "days on market" figure of 93 days, with Oakland the stand-alone at just 28 days. Many of these markets are seated in the hot "sand state" regions, with a few outliers such as Denver, Detroit, Seattle and Washington, DC.
Median Age of Inventory
10 MSAs with the Shortest Median Days on Market
This month's figures also paint a picture of three primary sectors of individual market health:
Realtor.com® regularly tracks real estate data and develops monthly reports featuring the number of listings, median age of inventory and median list price across the U.S. and in specific markets, as well as provides year-over-year and month-over-month changes. These reports are the only ones pulled directly from the realtor.com® database, where 90 percent of listings are updated every 15 minutes from more than 800 MLSs. For more information on Move, please visit www.move.com or one of its many online real estate properties including realtor.com®.
ABOUT realtor.com®
Operated by Move, Inc., realtor.com® helps connect people with the content, tools and expertise they need to find their perfect home. As the official website of the National Association of REALTORS®, realtor.com® empowers consumers to make the smartest decisions when it comes to finding a home by leveraging direct connections with more than 800 MLSs to deliver the most accurate and up-to-date listing information in neighborhoods across the country, and by making timely and meaningful connections between consumers and REALTORS®. Whether through desktop, mobile, or tablet versions, realtor.com® is where home happens.
ABOUT MOVE, INC.
Move, Inc., the leader in online real estate, operates: realtor.com®, the official website of the National Association of REALTORS®; Move.com, a leading destination for new homes and rental listings, moving, home and garden, and home finance; ListHub™, the leading syndicator of real estate listings; Moving.com™; SeniorHousingNet; SocialBios; Doorsteps, TigerLead®; and TOP PRODUCER® Systems. Move, Inc. is based in San Jose, California.