Quarterly Residential Real Estate Report Indicates Healthy Selling Season

PITTSBURGH, May 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- All expectations in 2015 are for a healthy and energetic selling season for residential real estate in Southwestern PA, according to the Q1 2015 residential real estate report from West Penn Multi-List, Inc.

"National stories have been highlighting an increase in new construction sales and pending sales, but national stories are not always readily applied to the local scene," said Tom Hosack, current president of the West Penn Multi-List, Inc., and president and CEO of Northwood Realty Services in Pittsburgh. "All the same, if ever there were a year to list or purchase a home, wider economic factors seem to indicate that this is the year."

When comparing January-March 2015 key metrics with the same time period in 2014:

• New listings increased 3.4 percent to 8,158;
• Closed sales increased 9 percent to 4,765;
• Pending sales were down 23.7 percent to 4,237;
• Inventory levels shrank 0.3 percent to 17,183 units;
• Median sales price increased 5.7 percent to $130,000;
• Number of days on the market decreased 2 percent to 96 days; and
• Buyers felt empowered as months' supply of inventory was up 3.6 percent to 8.6 months.

"On average, more people are employed and making more money than they were at this time last year. The jobs picture, as a whole, looks promising. Employment drives home-buying activity, so it is critical to watch labor statistics as a key indicator for the residential real estate market. Coupled with the mostly positive jobs picture, it is widely expected that mortgage rates will remain as they are for at least the first two quarters of the year," said Hosack.

A comparison of April 2014 and April 2015 data shows:

• New listings increased 6.75 percent (4,340 properties in April 2014 versus 4,633 in April 2015);
• Average listing price increased 17.28 percent ($191,000 in April 2014 versus $224,000 in April 2015);
• The number of properties with accepted offers at the end of the month increased 11.08 percent (3,032 properties in April 2014 versus 3,368 in April 2015);
• The total number of units that closed sale during the month decreased 3.26 percent (2,116 in April 2014 versus 2,047 in April 2015); and
• The sum of prices for all residential properties that closed during the month increased 4.36 percent ($344.3M in April 2014 versus $359.3M in April 2015).

Listing data in this report is supplied by West Penn Multi-List, Inc., the definitive source for real estate information for its service area – Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Cambria, Clarion, Crawford, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, Mercer, Somerset, Venango, Washington and Westmoreland Counties. For more information, visit http://www.westpennmls.com.

CONTACT: Kristen Laney O'Toole
[email protected]  
412-327-2907

SOURCE West Penn Multi-List, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.westpennmls.com