Hooray! Last month, I predicted that we would see rising prices in the near future. At that time, all indicators besides price were healthily improving including number of home sales, pending home sales, inventory, & days on market. Well, now as of this month, the price indicators are all well up too. It didn’t take much to see this coming since home sales and pending sales have been up for months. When comparing home sales in Mecklenburg County from June 2011 to June 2012, here’s the story:

Home sales are up 13%
Average sales price is up 8%
Median sales price is up 11%
Days on market is down 14%
Pending home sales are up 34%
Supply is down 22%
Interest rates are at a historical low and down almost a full point from last year

The best real estate deals from the great recession are probably in the past at this point. But prices are still way down from the peak and rates are at a ridiculous record low. My guess is that sellers who have been holding out for a while will see this data and finally pull the trigger on getting their homes on the market. This will probably slow the appreciation rate some as inventory rises again next spring. Buyers will be happy about this news because lately there have been fewer and fewer good listings to choose from. In my office, our listings have been selling faster than we can take on new ones. (So if you know anyone thinking of selling, please send them our way!) All in all, these are all good things and it seems the market is getting back to normal.