NAR Existing home sales data edges up, proves all real estate is local

Real estate is local

What does a home for sale under $100k in the West have in common with a $100-$250k home for sale in the Midwest? Besides possibly composite shingles on the roof, they have in common the largest increase and decrease in existing home sales of any region.

Proving that all real estate is local, home sales of houses under $100 in the West skyrocketed 45% while Midwestern houses in the $100-$250k range dropped 26% from February to March, according to data from the National Association of Realtors today.

Nationally, existing home sales rose 3% in the same time period, but dropped 6.3% from March 2010. The biggest increase in sales was in the $100-250k range, up a drastic 43% from February and up a minimum of 1.5% in all other price ranges.

NAR data shows that of the 20 largest metro areas, single family home sales and prices took the biggest hit in St. Louis where both were down 20% over the year, while the largest increases came in Phoenix who saw sales rise 9.5% over the year and San Antonio where prices rose 3.6%.

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Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist said, “With rising jobs and excellent affordability conditions, we project moderate improvements into 2012, but not every month will show a gain – primarily because some buyers are finding it too difficult to obtain a mortgage. For those fortunate enough to qualify for financing, monthly mortgage payments as a percent of income have been at record lows.”