Fresno hits top 10 in home list price jump

Source: The Business Journal

 Realtor.com, an online real estate site operated by Move, Inc., released its National Housing Trend Report for December 2013, showing that Fresno came in 10th on the nation’s top 10 of metropolitan statistical areas for the greatest year-over-year price increase for homes. Median list price in Fresno increased by 23.8 percent year-over-year in December. Ken Neufeld, an agent with London Properties in Fresno, said he is not surprised at all by Fresno making the top 10 of median list price increases. “The rebound has been phenomenal,” Neufeld said. He said about 30 percent of last year’s home sales were cash sales. The added competition of cash buyers further served to drive prices upward, Neufeld added. The cash sales are not subject to appraisals, which can slow the sales process, he said. The jump in Fresno home prices has already had the effect of slowing winter sales and helping build back inventory, which had been severely short. Neufeld said he believes Fresno is now in a more stable market. While monthly December figures indicate a shift into winter's slow season, prices and housing demand for the full 2013 year closed in stronger positions compared to 2012. Data from realtor.com shows the national median list price for December 2013 is 8.1 percent above the levels observed in December 2012. On a month-over-month basis, December 2013 showed the first significant signs of the usual seasonal winter slow down. "Bidding wars and all-cash offers left many home buyers empty handed after the summer home buying season,” said Errol Samuelson, president of Realtor.com in a release. “In fact, many buyers remained in the market throughout the fall in an effort to get ahead of the competition, extending the summer season and making housing indicators resilient to usual seasonal patterns.” Samuelson said the market is still showing significant demand, but in order to have a strong home buying season, sellers need to put their homes on the market. While December data is strong, other factors could impact consumers when it comes to 2014 housing. The National Association of Realtors’ Confidence Index results recently highlighted concern about the effect of the Qualified Mortgage rules that came into effect in January 2014, which may further decrease credit availability. Another fear was the impact on consumer finances of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act this month. Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas with the greatest year-over-year list price increases for December:
 Stockton-Lodi 47.3 percent
Detroit, Mich. 41.1 percent
Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc 29.6 percent
Las Vegas, Nev. 29.3 percent
Reno, Nev. 28.7 percent 
Los Angeles-Long Beach 28.5 percent
Riverside-San Bernardino 26.7 percent 
Orange County, Calif. 26.1 percent
Oakland 24.9 percent
Fresno 23.8 percent

 URL to original article: http://thebusinessjournal.com/news/real-estate/10435-fresno-hits-top-10-in-home-list-price-jump

 For further information on Fresno Real Estate check: http://www.londonproperties.com