""RE/MAX"":www.remax.com/ has released the results of its most recent housing survey, and the company's evaluation of 53 metropolitan areas demonstrates a 7.6 percent rise in home sales year-over-year in September. The findings represent the third consecutive month in which an increase in sales was shown year-over-year for comparable months, and generally, sales have been on the uptick for four of nine months during 2011 based on RE/MAX's report.
[IMAGE]Higher sales pushed the nation's housing inventory lower by 20.2 percent on a year-over-year basis, representing the fifteenth consecutive month in which market inventory declined. September's data extends trends seen from data recorded in July and August, during which sales rose by18 percent and 13.1 percent respectively.
Home pricing, however, dropped during the survey period, falling 3.3 percent on a year-over-year basis. According to RE/MAX, the current media sales price stands at $183,762, demonstrating a 2.5 percent decrease from August to September.
[COLUMN_BREAK]While some regions sufferred, some areas did go against the trend, ringing in a rise in home pricing. Detroit, Michigan; Miami, Florida; Orlando, Florida; Anchorage, Alaska; and Indianapolis, Indiana each saw an uptick in prices; respectively, the cities showed jumps of 13.4 percent, 8.4 percent, 7.8 percent, 5.1 percent, and 4.5 percent. Out of the 53 metro areas evaluated, only 17 demonstrated any forward progress in pricing.
Cities faring the most favorably based on sales pace included Des Moines, Iowa; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Wilmington, Delaware; Trenton, New Jersey; and Providence, Rhode Island. Respectively, the areas had year-over-year increases in home sales of 31.3 percent, 30.1 percent, 28.4 percent, 27.3 percent, and 23.5 percent. Overall, 44 of the 53 markets examined showed positive sales growth.
On average, properties throughout the 53 regions RE/MAX reported on stayed on the market for 94 days. Showing a small increase of four days between months, the length of market stay rose by six days year-over-year. It's worth noting that numbers from September 2010, which indicated an average market stay of 88 days, represented the lowest on record in the past year, with July of this year also equaling an 88 day market stay average.
RE/MAX's housing reports are delivered every month, following the program's establishment in 2008. The regular surveys include MLS statistics across all residential property types and the data is not annualized. Additionally, RE/MAX includes at least one metro area from each state in the U.S. for accuracy and maximum representation.