Seller’s Market Developing in Much of the U.S.
Existing-home sales edged up in January, while a seller’s market is developing and home prices continue to rise steadily above year-ago levels, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Sales rose in every region but the West, which is the region most constrained by limited inventory.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said tight inventory is a major factor in the market. “Buyer traffic is continuing to pick up, while seller traffic is holding steady,” he said. “In fact, buyer traffic is 40 percent above a year ago, so there is plenty of demand but insufficient inventory to improve sales more strongly. We’ve transitioned into a seller’s market in much of the country.”
Listed inventory is 25.3 percent below a year ago when there was a 6.2-month supply. Raw unsold inventory is at the lowest level since December 1999 when there were 1.71 million homes on the market.
“We expect a seasonal rise of inventory this spring, but it may be insufficient to avoid more frequent incidences of multiple bidding and faster-than-normal price growth,” Yun explained. See Video
'The most recent housing affordability data should be encouraging to many prospective home buyers, because it shows that home ownership remains within reach of median-income consumers even as most local markets appear to be on a recovery path,' says NAHB Chairman Rick Judson.
Listed inventory is 25.3 percent below a year ago when there was a 6.2-month supply. Raw unsold inventory is at the lowest level since December 1999 when there were 1.71 million homes on the market.
“Bidding wars are becoming more common.” 
'We're now well past the peak of the foreclosure crisis,' says Daren Blomquist, spokesman for RealtyTrac.
The best month to sell? April, according to the analysis. Homes sold in April tended to sell closer to their asking price. In April, homes were found to sell for a 99.2 percent sale price-to-list ratio, compared to a 97.3 percent ratio of homes listed in December. 
Researchers cite low interest rates coupled with an improving job market as the main reasons for the higher home prices. Those two factors combined have fueled demand for a tightening supply of listings. 
In December, the number of homes in some stage of the foreclosure process continued to shrink, and fewer homes were lost to foreclosure, according to the National Foreclosure Report from Corelogic.
According to the Salt Lake Board of Realtors, the median sales price of a single-family home sold in Salt Lake County jumped 14.36 percent for the three-month period to $223,000 compared with $195,000 in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Foreclosures, and Negative Equity: While the national delinquency rate remains elevated and even increased slightly month-over-month in December, the delinquency rate ended the year 32 percent lower than the January 2010 peak, according to the December Mortgage Monitor report from Lender Processing Services (LPS).
