SHORT LIST

What’s Trending

Market Numbers in Context

2014 Prices Rise

Sales of existing homes decreased by a total of 3.1 percent in 2014 (4.93 million sales) from 2013 (5.09 million sales), NAR reports, but the national median existing-home price increased by 5.8 percent last year, rising from $197,100 in 2013 to $208,500. The median home sale price in 2014 reached its highest level since 2007.

The median existing-home sale price in December was $209,500, an increase of 6.0 percent from the prior year. At the end of December 2014, the total housing inventory dropped 11.1 percent to 1.85 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 4.4-month supply at the current sales pace down from 5.1 months in November. Unsold inventory was 0.5 percent lower than the year-earlier period (1.86 million).

Home sales improved over the summer once inventory increased, prices moderated and economic growth accelerated, says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. Sales were measurably better in the second half up 8 percent compared to the first six months of the year.

First-time homebuyers represented 29 percent of buyers for the second straight year, which represents the lowest level of entry-level buyers in three decades, NAR reports.

In Summary

In 2014, sales of existing homes declined by 3.1% eveb as median prices increased by 5.8%.

Foreclosures Fall

The number of properties with foreclosure filings continued to decline in 2014, falling 18 percent from 2013 and 61 percent from the peak year of 2010, when the housing market was still reeling. The RealtyTrac Year-End 2014 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report finds that 1.1 million properties had a foreclosure filing last year, the lowest annual total since 2006.

Still, foreclosure starts in December increased 6 percent from the previous month and 14 percent from December 2013, marking the second straight month of year-over-year increases, the report says. Many of these foreclosure starts are in states that have judicial foreclosure backlogs.

The U.S. foreclosure numbers in 2014 show a foreclosure market that is close to finding a floor and stabilizing at a historically normal level, says Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. But a recent surge in foreclosure starts and scheduled foreclosure auctions in the last few months of 2014 indicate lenders are gearing up for a spring cleaning of deferred distress in the first half of 2015 in some local markets.