Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.
Wendy Culverwell Business Journal staff writer – Portland Business Journal
The pace of sales picked up in November for existing homes, but it came as the median price fell.
The National Association of Realtors
said Tuesday the pace of existing home sales rose to an annual rate of 4.42 million in November, 12.2 percent above the pace set one year prior. However, the median price for all types of housing was $164,200, down 3.5 percent from one year ago. Distressed homes, including those in foreclosure or being sold for less than the balance of the current mortgage, represented 29 percent of all sales.
“We’ve seen healthy gains in contract activity, so it looks like more people are realizing the great opportunity that exists in today’s market for buyers with long-term plans,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.
The pattern repeated itself in the West, where the pace of sales rose to 1.16 million, an 11.5 percent increase from one year ago. The median price for the region fell 8.4 percent, to $195,300.
The national figures tend to confirm local reports by the Regional Multiple Listing Service. RMLS reported that pending sales and closed sales in Portland both rose more than 18 percent in November compared to one year ago, but the median price fell 3.4 percent to $225,000.
Also on Friday, Santa Ana, Calif.-based CoreLogic said the “shadow” inventory of homes was 1.5 million in October, down from 1.9 million one year prior. The shadow inventory consists of properties with delinquent mortgages or those that have been foreclosed, but have not yet been listed for sale.
CoreLogic does not break down regional information, but said Florida, California and Illinois are the top states for shadow inventory, representing more than one third of the national inventory.
Wendy Culverwell covers real estate, retail and hospitality.
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