Home Prices Up Yearly, Inventory Down Nearly 30%: RE/MAX

Home prices skimmed close to the bottom during July this year but climbed 6.3 percent year-over-year by August, according to RE/MAX.

The real estate company revealed in its latest National Housing Report that median home prices ticked up from last year over the last seven straight months.

Home sales jumped 8.5 percent year-over-year, continuing its ascent from over the last fourteen consecutive months, and 2.5 percent on a monthly basis in August.

“As we move from summer to fall it’s very encouraging that this year’s home selling season began strong and finished even stronger,” Margaret Kelly, CEO of RE/MAX, said in a statement. “Nearly every month in 2012 experienced increased sales and prices over 2011, showing that we’ve definitely passed the bottom and we’re looking forward to 2013 being an even better year.”

According to RE/MAX, home inventory dipped 29.7 percent below levels from August last year – a trend that the company report says “remains a serious challenge to this recovery.”

The median sales prices for homes solid in August averaged $168,685, down by only 0.2 percent from July. Prices crested this summer in June, remaining higher from last year over the last two months.

The median price rose 6.3 percent in August, marking the seventh consecutive month that prices rose annually.

Forty-six of the 53 metro areas covered by the RE/MAX report saw prices tick up from over last year, with 15 observing double-digit increases.

Those latter areas included Phoenix (33.9 percent), Boise (24.1 percent), San Francisco (22.6 percent), Las Vegas (19 percent), Miami (17.8 percent), and Billings (16.6 percent).

For home sold in August, the average days on market fell to 81, reflecting a decline from just one day from the average in July.