RE/MAX: Monthly and Yearly Gain for Home Sales in October

In October, home prices and sales increased compared to 2011 levels, while inventory remained a concern, ""RE/MAX"":http://www.remax.com/ revealed in a recent report.

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The company's housing data is based on a survey of MLS data in 52 metropolitan areas.

The median sales price in October 2012 stood at $158,900, a 3.7 percent decrease from September but a 2.1 percent increase from October 2011. The year-over-year increase is the ninth straight month of annual gains.

Out of the 52 metro areas surveyed, RE/MAX reported 48 experienced yearly price gains and 18 posted double-digit increases.

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Phoenix saw a 33.9 percent price increase from last year, while San Francisco trailed behind closely with 31.2 percent increase.

Home sales managed to post increases both yearly and monthly in October, which RE/MAX says is ""an impressive performance since seasonal patterns typically see a slight drop from September to October.""

Month-over-month, sales moved higher by 5.4 percent and were also up by 17.8 percent from October 2011.

Out of the 52 metros, 48 experienced yearly increases in sales, with Providence seeing a 48 percent increase, followed by Chicago (+44 percent); Albuquerque (+39.3 percent); Burlington, Virginia; (+37 percent); and Wichita, Kansas (+32.2 percent).

Inventory in October declined monthly and yearly. Compared to September, inventory was down by 6.3percent, marking the 28th consecutive month of monthly declines. Since October 2011, inventory has fallen 28.9 percent.

The months of remaining inventory was 5.2 in October, down from 7.7 last year.
With inventory down, the average number of days homes remained low at 82, down from 95 days last year and the lowest average since June 2010.

Metro areas with a significantly low supply of inventory include San Francisco (1.1), Los Angeles (1.5), Orlando (2.4), and Denver (2.4), and Washington, D.C. (2.5).