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According to the National Association of REALTORS®, resales of single-family homes, townhouses, condominiums and co-ops increased 2.3% in July from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.47 million after an unexpected fall in June. Resales jumped 10.4% compared with the same month last year. Economists at the association believe sales could reach 5 million next year. Nationwide, prices have increased substantially, with the median rising 9.4% from a year ago to $187,300 last month. The increase is the largest since a 10.2% boost in January 2006. According to economists, demand is stronger due to low mortgage interest rates and rising rents.  Distressed homes, which include foreclosures and short sales, made up 24% of sales in July, down from a quarter the previous month and nearly 30% a year earlier. The median price of a single-family home was $188,100, up 9.6% from the same period in 2011. Sales of such properties rose 9.9% over the same period to an annual rate of

As we see signs of a housing market recovery and the glimpse that things seem ready to return to normal, major markets across the U.S. are about to be impacted by a new housing crisis… a shortage of housing. According to the National Association of Realtors, a comparison of the second quarter of 2011 to the second quarter of 2012 indicates: Existing home sales are up 8.6% Existing inventory for sale is down 24.4% Median home prices are up 7.3% Individually, each of these statistics indicates a major market transition. Collectively, they show unprecedented one-year movement in the housing market. According to the U.S. Census, the recent history of housing construction has been relatively consistent (between one and two million homes produced since 1968): Between 1968 and 2008 at least one million homes were constructed each year The year with the greatest output was 1973 at 2,100,500 homes The year with the lowest output was 1982 at 1,005,500 homes The average output

For some time now, we have attempted to shed light on the fact that pricing in today’s real estate market, as it is in the markets for every other saleable item, will be determined by the concept of ‘supply and demand’. According to dictionary.com, “the relationship between supply and demand determines the price of a commodity. This relationship is thought to be the driving force in a free market.” In real estate, supply and demand is represented as the current month’s supply of homes for sale (the number of homes for sale divided by the number of homes sold in the previous month). Most real estate professionals know, or at least have a good idea of, the month’s supply of inventory in their market. But why? Because of its effect on pricing moving forward. While there is no steadfast rule that will apply to pricing in every category of housing, here is a great guideline by which to go: 1-4 months’ supply creates a sellers’ market where there are not enough homes to satisfy b