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Home Prices Buck Typical Seasonal Slowdown in September: Report

Home prices in September were up 5 percent year-over-year while home sales posted a 4 percent annual increase, even as housing metrics began their typical seasonal declines, according to ""Redfin's"":http://www.redfin.com analysis of activity across 19 major U.S. markets.

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Between August and September, these 19 markets saw prices decline just 0.8 percent, which Redfin says is a smaller decline than is customary at this time of year. Over the same period, home sales dropped 17 percent -- a figure the company says represents ""a typical seasonal decline.""

According to Redfin's report, the number of homes for sale in the markets studied as of September 2012 -- 198,581 â€" is down 29.3 percent from September 2011. Inventory fell by 4.3 percent from August to September.

""September is usually the month that real estate goes on sale, like Christmas toys in January. Whatever didn't sell in the summer gets marked down for a September closing,"" said Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman. ""This September, we saw only a modest decline in prices, with inventory still dropping and demand fairly steady.

Homes on the market continue to sell quickly, according to Redfin. The company's study shows the percentage

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of listings that sold within 14 days of their debut held at 27 percent in September.

Redfin's real-time tracker provides monthly data on home prices, sales, and inventory, based on the local databases used directly by real estate agents to list properties and record sales. As a real estate broker itself, Redfin has access to dozens of Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) used by agents, which means the company gets its data within minutes of a sale, pending sale, or listing activation.

Kelman notes that in the most volatile markets, including Southern California, Phoenix, and Las Vegas, Redfin’s study showed a continuance of big price gains last month. Fifteen of the 19 markets studied had higher prices than a year earlier.

Phoenix showed the greatest appreciation at +30 percent year-over-year. Philadelphia suffered the biggest loss of -3 percent from September 2011.

The top seven markets with the largest year-over-year drop in inventory last month were all in California: Sacramento (-66.4 percent), Ventura (-64.8 percent), Inland Empire (-58.8 percent), San Francisco (-57.6 percent), San Jose (-55.7 percent), Los Angeles (-55.3 percent) San Diego (-53.5 percent).

The market with the smallest annual drop in supply was Chicago, - 5.1 percent from inventory levels at the same time last year.

The fastest-selling markets -- which Redfin assesses as the percentage of homes selling in two weeks or less -- are also all in California: San Jose (55.9 percent), Ventura (51.7 percent), San Francisco (46.8 percent), Los Angeles (41.4 percent), San Diego (40.9 percent), and Inland Empire (40.6 percent).

The slowest-selling market is Boston, according to the brokerage firm, with only 3.7 percent of the homes for sale last month selling in 14 days or less.

About Author: Carrie Bay

Carrie Bay is a freelance writer for DS News and its sister publication MReport. She served as online editor for DSNews.com from 2008 through 2011. Prior to joining DS News and the Five Star organization, she managed public relations, marketing, and media relations initiatives for several B2B companies in the financial services, technology, and telecommunications industries. She also wrote for retail and nonprofit organizations upon graduating from Texas A&M University with degrees in journalism and English.
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