Cary NC - Real Estate Blog - Existing-home sales rose in November as first-time buyers rushed to close sales before the original November 30 deadline for the recently extended and expanded tax credit, according to the National Association of REALTORS ® (NAR).

Existing-home sales—including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops—rose 7.4%. At this pace, 6.54 million homes will sell by year’s end.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said the rise was expected. Great news for Cary NC REal Estate Agents. “This clearly is a rush of first-time buyers not wanting to miss out on the tax credit, but there are many more potential buyers who can enter the market in the months ahead,” he said.

“We expect a temporary sales drop while buying activity ramps up for another surge in the spring when buyers take advantage of the expanded tax credit, which hopefully will take us into a self-sustaining market in the second half of 2010. This is something of great interest for those interested in the homes for sale in Cary NC. In all, 4.4 million households are expected to claim the tax credit before it expires and balance should be restored to the housing sector with inventories continuing to decline,” he added.

The inventory of homes for sale at the end of November declined 1.3% to 3.52 million existing homes, which represents a 6.5-month supply at the current sales pace, down from an 7.0-month supply in October. Cary NC Realtors are very interested in this. Raw unsold inventory figures are 15.5% below a year ago. The last time there was a lower supply of homes on the market was April 2006 when it was at a 6.1-month supply.

“Nearly all markets experienced a solid sales gain from one year ago,” Yun said. “The only markets with measurably lower sales were in San Diego, Riverside, and Sacramento, Calif., where inventory shortages for lower priced homes are limiting sales.”

Houses versus condos
For the second month in a row, sales have risen in all price classes from a year earlier.  Before October, the only consistent gains were in the lower price ranges.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $172,600 in November, which is 4.3% below November 2008. This is something of great interest for those interested in the homes for sale in Cary NC.  Distressed properties, which accounted for 33% of sales in November, continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes in the same area.

Single-family home sales jumped 8.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.77 million in November from a level of 5.32 million in October, and are 42.1% above the pace of 4.06 million in November 2008. Great news for Cary NC REal Estate Agents.  The median existing single-family home price was $171,900 in November, down 4.4% from a year ago.

Existing condominium and co-op sales in November were unchanged from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 770,000 in October, but are 60.1% above the 481,000-unit pace a year ago. Cary NC Realtors are very interested in this.The median existing condo price was $178,000 in November, which is 3.1% below November 2008.

Regional home sales
Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 6.6% to an annual level of 1.13 million in November, and are 52.7% higher than November 2008. The median price in the Northeast was $223,400, down 13.1% from a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest increased 8.4% in November to a pace of 1.55 million and are 53.5% above a year ago. This is something of great interest for those interested in the homes for sale in Cary NC.  The median price in the Midwest was $140,800, a decline of 0.4% from November 2008.

In the South, existing-home sales rose 4.8% to an annual level of 2.39 million in November and are 44.8% higher than a year ago. Great news for Cary NC REal Estate Agents. The median price in the South was $151,400, down 1.4% from November 2008. Existing-home sales in the West increased 10.6% to an annual rate of 1.46 million in November and are 28.1% above November 2008. The median price in the West was $231,100, which is 4.1% below a year ago