More Home Owners Consider the Source Selling Reports of rising home prices are making selling more attractive to the largest share of home owners in eight years, according to a gauge from the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters. Few of the home owners surveyed said they expected to lose money if they decided to sell their home now. The findings could signal the beginnings of a major shift for the housing market, which has been haunted by the low number of homes for sale across the country. Home price increases over the past two years may give more families confidence to sell their homes, alleviating low inventories and giving home buyers who were sitting on the sidelines because of fewer housing choice more incentive to make a move too. Rising confidence among consumers could also translate into more sales in new homes. Last week, a report by the U.S. Census Bureau showed that new-home sales surged nearly 19 percent last month, reaching the highest rate since May 2008. Two home-building giants reported a steady turnaround in new orders and price rises too in the second quarter. Lennar reported that new orders were up 8 percent, with average sales prices of its homes blooming 14 percent year over year. KB Homes, meanwhile, reported that orders increased 5 percent and its average selling price increased 10 percent in the past year. Locally, new listings and sales prices were up significantly in Ulster County in May 2014 versus May 2013. Numbering 486, new listings were up 18.8 percent versus May 2013. Reaching $220,000, the median sales price rose 2.3 percent over May 2013, nearly double the statewide increase. For more information about the local real estate market, contact a REATLOR®. For a listing of area REALTORS®, visit ulstercountyboardofrealtors.
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 16:22:11 +0000