Home Sales Rise Monthly, Up Y-O-Y

IRVINE, CA-The home sales rate seems to be trending in two different directions, depending upon which set of data one consults. The number of US residential properties sold rose 2% in October, up 13% from a year ago, yet home sales continued to decrease on an annual basis for the third consecutive month in three bellwether western states: California, Arizona and Nevada, reports RealtyTrac Inc. This finding is consistent with data on which GlobeSt.com reported last week.

As GlobeSt.com also reported last week, the number of short sales on distressed homes nationwide decreased in October, according to RealtyTrac. In addition, the number of foreclosure auction sales to third parties also decreased during the month, according to the firm.

In addition, the national median sales price of all residential properties—both distressed and non-distressed—remained unchanged at $170,000 in October from the previous month, although it is up 6% from October 2012, according to the firm. The median price of a distressed residential property—in foreclosure or bank-owned—was $110,000 in October, 41% below the median price of $185,000 for a non-distressed property. Markets with the biggest increase in median home price included Detroit, San Francisco, Sacramento, Atlanta and Jacksonville, FL.

Also, cash sales represented 44.2% of all residential sales in October, down from a revised 45% in September, but up from 33.9% in October 2012. States with percentage of cash sales above the national average included Florida, Nevada, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Michigan and Ohio.

Another notable trend is that institutional investor purchases have dropped sharply, representing 6.8% of all sales in October vs. the revised 12.1% in September and down from 9.7% a year ago. Markets with the highest percentage of institutional investor purchases included Memphis; Atlanta; Jacksonville, FL; Charlotte; and Milwaukee.