Report: Fresno in top 10 for home price jump

Source: The Business Journal

 The Fresno metropolitan area had some of the highest home price and inventory increases in the country, according to a report by Realtor.com. The National Housing Trend Report for March 2014 showed the median list price of a home increased 5.3 percent in March over the year before, going from $189,800 to $199,000. Out of 146 metros evaluated in the report, the Fresno metro had the eighth highest increase in the country. Prices increased 17.4 percent in the area over the last year from a median price of $195,800 to $229,900. That's behind metros like Houston growing 18.5 percent, Denver at 20.1 percent and No. 1 Stockton-Lodi at 38.9 percent. Housing inventory also grew over the year before, rising 9.5 percent nationwide to 1,841,844 homes listed on Realtor.com. Going from 1,946 homes listed on the website in March 2013, the Fresno area has since climbed to 3,049 listings in the latest month. That's an increase of 56.7 percent, just sixth behind Nashville, Tenn. (56.8 percent), Orlando, Fla. (56.8 percent), Bakersfield (57.3 percent), Orange County (63.5 percent) and Stockton-Lodi (68.6 percent). The median age of inventory increased 22.9 percent across the country over the last year with homes now 102 days on the market on average. In the Fresno metro, the increase in inventory meant homes spent an average of 61 days on the market in March. That's up 45.2 percent from a year ago, 12th behind areas like Springfield, Ill. increasing by 57.3 percent, Stockton-Lodi by 60 percent, Oakland, Calif. by 80 percent and Rochester, N.Y. growing the most by 98.4 percent. According to Realtor.com, a real estate listing service offered by Move, Inc., home sales activity remains sluggish but added inventory may mean more affordable prices in many markets for the first-time and move-up homebuyers alike. "Bidding wars in many markets last year frequently elevated offer prices beyond the reach of first-time buyers who could scarcely save for the down payment," said Steve Berkowitz, CEO of Move, in a release. "While inventory is still low, the continuing annual lift in the number of homes on the market that we've seen over the first months of 2014 is an indicator that buying conditions this year may be notable improved from the frenzied pace of last spring."

 URL to original article: http://www.thebusinessjournal.com/news/real-estate/11623-report-in-top-10-for-home-price-jump 

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