The real estate market is on the upswing as U.S. existing home sales jumped more than 15 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, reaching 4.8 million, according to a survey by a real estate industry organization.
Sales came back in 49 states and prices climbed in more than half of the American metropolitan areas from the fourth quarter of 2009. The median price for single-family homes was $170,600, little changed from the prior year. About 34 percent of the homes sold in the fourth quarter of 2010 were distressed and typically sold at discounts as high as 15 percent.
The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) finds the trend promising not only for the real estate market but the job market as well. NAR expects 300,000 more home sales in 2011 and links this number to about 150,000 to 200,000 more jobs. Lawrence Yun, chief economist with NAR sees strengthening home values have a big impact because consumer spending naturally rises in conjunction with increased home ownership.
Better housing markets, like Washington, D.C. are also seeing improved job markets. In D.C., the median existing single-family home price in the fourth quarter was as up about 8 percent from the same period in 2009.
Condominiums didn’t fare as well as homes. According to NAR, the of the 57 metropolitan areas surveyed, the price for existing condos dropped more than 6 percent to $164,200 in the fourth quarter of 2010 from 2009. Nevada, Arizona and Florida were the hardest hit regions and consumers could get condos at very low prices, according to Yun.