Housing-News-Report-October-2017

HOUSINGNEWS REPORT

MY TAKE

There is a Season for Housing Sales and Prices

BY TED C. JONES, PHD STEWART TITLE GUARANTY COMPANY

Just as the seasons of the year change, likewise do both sales volumes and median prices of existing home closings. The best time to buy or sell, however, varies by markets around the country. Buyers naturally want to purchase at lower price points with reduced levels of competition, while sellers want top dollar when demand is at a peak.

volumes (and correspondingly the greatest prices) and buyers the least (less competition with lower prices). The following table utilizes monthly sales data (not seasonally adjusted) from the National Association of Realtors® calculated as follows:

• Within every year, each month was expressed as a percentage of total annual sales

• Average and median percentage monthly statistics were calculated

Shown in the table below are monthly sales and summary statistics. These are almost identical within each month, varying at most by 0.1 percent between the average and median.

• Data includes monthly closings from 2011 through 2016, with the logic being that the rise and implosion of the housing bubble may have skewed sales prior to 2011

Sellers need to know what months have the greatest transaction

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OCTOBER 2017 | ATTOM DATA SOLUTIONS

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