Rob For Real Estate: Reality Check: That was Then, This is Now!!

	As 2013 gets underway, Northern California's housing market is poised to continue the steady recovery that began last year. Home sales and the median sale price rose in most of our markets last year, and industry economists expect more improvement this year. Foreclosures and short sales continue to decline. The only problem seems to be that many potential sellers don't realize that things have changed so dramatically since the downturn of the housing market, and they're missing out on a tremendous opportunity. There's a severe shortage of homes for sale in many areas, which means that homeowners savvy enough to list their home right now are often getting multiple offers – and sometimes at prices we haven't seen in several years! Available inventory of homes for sale in much of our region is down 50 percent or more just in the past year. Right now, there are more eager buyers out there than homes on the market to meet their demand. With an imbalance between supply and demand, homebuyers have been fiercely competing with each other, and that's great news for sellers. The California Association of Realtors announced in its November 1, 2012 report that 57 percent of home sales in California received multiple offers, the highest percentage of multiple offers in at least the past 12 years, with each home receiving an average of 4.2 offers, which was up from 3.5 offers in 2011. This seller's market is rapidly driving up prices. The median price of all homes sold in Sacramento County, for example, rose by 18 percent in December compared with the same month a year before, according to a study for the Sacramento Bee by DataQuick, the La Jolla-based information services company. According to DataQuick the price appreciation was even sharper in the Bay Area, which saw the median price in December spike by 32 percent.

	California Association of Realtors Unsold inventory index for existing single-family homes (in months)


		Source: California Association of Realtors

The same trends that we are seeing here in Northern California are occurring in markets across the country, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Home sales nationwide rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million in November, the highest level since November 2009, when the annual pace spiked at 5.44 million, NAR reported.

"Momentum continues to build in the housing market from growing jobs and a bursting out of household formation," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. "With lower rental vacancy rates and rising rents, combined with still historically favorable affordability conditions, more people are buying homes."

Yun said healthy market demand and shortage of listings is driving up prices once again. “A diminishing share of foreclosed property sales is helping home values," he noted. "Moreover, an acute shortage of inventory in certain markets is leading to multiple biddings and escalating price conditions."

Total housing inventory at the end of November nationwide fell 3.8 percent to 2.03 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 4.8-month supply at the current sales pace. It was down from 5.3 months in October and is the lowest housing supply since September of 2005 when it was 4.6 months, NAR reported.

Listed inventory is 22.5 percent below a year ago when there was a 7.1-month supply. Raw unsold inventory is now at the lowest level since December 2001 when there were 1.89 million homes on the market, NAR said.

Compared with a year ago, home listings are down in every price category in each of the nation's 30 largest housing markets, according to a study by real estate website Zillow.

The tight inventory conditions won't last forever, of course. In an interview with USA Today, Zillow economist Stan Humphries said tight inventories will push up prices, encouraging more people to list homes.

So where does this all leave you? If you've been putting off selling your home, you may want to seriously consider getting back into the market now. As the new year gets under way, the pendulum has swung back into a seller's market. But there's no guarantee how long that will last.

Buyers are out there looking, prices are climbing once again and there just aren't enough good home listings to go around. With such strong buyer demand and a shortage of listings, this may be the best time to sell your home. I'm ready to help you get started today!

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