The Bright Light!

There are some great signs in the 2011 homes sales numbers. 2011 was the tale of two markets, the first half of 2011 the market was brutal. Closed sales were down every month compared to the same month in 2010, in some cases down as much as 26%. The second half of 2011 told a completely different story, sales soared up at least 8% vs. same month the prior year except for December which was only up .5%. This amazing second half rush put 2011 only down 1.6% from 2010 in total sales.

The slight sales decline is very encouraging considering that the total number of listing declined 18%. Bottom line is that sales were increasing while inventory was decreasing. While the current months’ supply is not outstanding for sellers it is considerably better at 8 months’ supply vs. 12.3 in June (only a 34% decrease!).

The affordability index is also up to 191 from 185., This index measures housing affordability for the region. An index of 120 means the median household income was 120% of what is necessary to qualify for the median-priced home under prevailing interest rates. A higher number means greater affordability.

This trend looks to continue as the number of pending’s in December of 2011 was 21.5% higher than in December of 2010.

This information was compiled from the Triangle MLS.  The Triangle Multiple List Service serves the greater Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill metro area.