The housing market continues to make headlines as the economy strengthens and home prices rise.  Both locally and nationally, there is renewed optimism that housing will be a net contributor to the economy in 2013 instead of the drag that it was during the recession.  Consider the following:

  • Nationally, the supply of homes has been shrinking for six months and inventories are down 14% year over year. 
  • Prices were up 24% from a year earlier in Phoenix. and 7.4% nationwide.
  • Supply of homes for sale fell to 4.4 months of inventory–the lowest in 7 years.
  • New home sales were up 20% in 2012 nationwide.
  • The Case-Shiller home price index showed the largest year-over-year gain since August of 2006.
  • Home prices are expected to rise 5.6% nationwide in 2013 according to a survey of 30 economists by Blooomberg.
  • Nineteen out of 20 markets covered by the Case-Shiller index showed year-over-year price increases.
  • Homebuilder stocks are up and earnings are beating analyst’s expectations.
Public sentiment takes time to turn.  There are many who still have concerns about housing because the housing led recession hurt most families over the past five years.  A housing recovery is the beginning of some of that healing, and it represents an opportunity for buyers based on pre-boom fundamentals.
Statistics obtained from “Houses for Sale are Still in Short Supply” by Julie Schmit at USA Today, and “Price gains Signal U.S. Housing to Boost Growth” by Shobhana Chandra & Jenna Smialek at Bloomberg