The housing market, a reliable bellwether of the economy, seems to be bouncing back.
Many of the nation’s largest home builders surprised analysts by reporting a profit in the quarter that just ended. Home sales continue to rise nationwide, compared with 2011, and home prices also are up. Prices rose 4.6% in August compared with a year ago — the largest year-over-year increase in more than six years.
All of this good news has been widely reported, so many Americans are thinking more about wading back into the real estate market, both as buyers and as sellers. But how many people know there are best times to buy and sell houses?
According to chief economist at real-estate website Trulia.com, Jed Kolko, "Acting soon may pay off as well. While trends vary by region, buyer search activity generally peaks in March and April, while seller listings peak in July. Most sellers would be better off if they pushed the process up a couple of months."
Still, in many markets, sellers have more of an edge than they have had in years. One big reason: The number of existing homes on the market dropped to 1.74 million in January, down 25% from a year earlier and the lowest level since December 1999, according to the National Association of Realtors. In markets such as Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., "prices are up, competition is down, bank competition is down more, days on the market are shorter, and the prices being realized relative to the list price have really improved," all good news for sellers, Mr. Lanny Baker says, chief executive of ZipRealty.
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