Sellers' Asking Prices Jumped in May

Source: The Wall Street Journal 

Article by Nick Timiraos

June 13, 2012

Median asking prices hit their highest level in 2½ years in May, the latest sign that sellers are feeling brighter about their prospects amid slimmer pickings of homes listed for sale.

Click for metro-level data

Median asking prices rose to $194,400, up 1.9% from April and 3.2% from one year ago, according to data released Wednesday by Realtor.com. Meanwhile, home listings increased by 2% from April, a slower-than-normal seasonal jump, and they stood 20% below their levels of year ago.

Reduced competition for sellers is making it easy for them to push the envelope on price. Compare May’s report with that of one year ago, when median asking prices in May 2011 fell by 1.6% from April 2011.

Meanwhile, the median amount of time that homes listed for sale had been on the market fell to 83 days, down by 9.8% from one year ago.

Here’s a closer look at the report:

Inventory: The number of homes for sale fell in all but two of the 146 markets tracked by Realtor.com on an annual basis, with inventory rising by 5% in Philadelphia and by 19% in Shreveport, La.

Nearly half of all markets saw a 20% year-over-year drop in the number of homes listed for sale, led by Oakland, Calif. (down 56.6%); Fresno, Calif. (48.8%); Bakersfield, Calif. (48.6%); Phoenix (44.7%) and Seattle (42.7%).

On a monthly basis, around three quarters of markets say inventories rise in May.


Prices: On an annual basis, asking prices fell in 24 markets, led by Reading, Pa. (down 5.4%); Allentown, Pa. (5.3%); and Milwaukee, Wis. (5.2%). The largest year-over-year jumps in median asking prices were reported in Phoenix (up 32.6%), Santa Barbara, Calif. (30.1%), and Chattanooga, Tenn. (up 24.1%). Median prices can overstate big swings because they may instead reflect a change in the mix of sales.

Median list prices fell on a monthly basis in just 17 markets, led by Daytona Beach, Fla., and Asheville, N.C. (down 1.4%), and were unchanged in another 35. They rose from April’s levels by 19% in Santa Barbara, Calif., and by 10% in Oakland.

The Realtor.com figures include sale listings from more than 900 multiple-listing services across the country. They don’t cover all homes for sale, including those that are “for sale by owner” and newly constructed homes that aren’t always listed by the services.