2013 Recap

The real estate market showed continued signs of improvement in 2013 through the return of the luxury market, increased home prices, and fewer distressed properties…but there’s still a lot to look forward to in 2014! We’re anticipating an increase in inventory of homes for sale, continued steady growth of the market, and accessible financing for first-time home buyers.

 1. Home prices increased significantly in 2013, which allowed many homeowners to gain a little more equity in their homes.  While the statistics vary a bit by source, they’re all reporting considerable increases; in fact, the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index increased 12.8% year-over-year in the fall! Thankfully, many homeowners are no longer “underwater” on their mortgages (meaning that they had owed more than their home was worth).

  2. The foreclosure crisis slowly came to an end this past year, but distressed properties still remain prevalent in some areas. Overall, the nation saw a 37% year-over-year decrease in foreclosure filings in November 2013.

3. This past year transitioned into a seller’s market, as lowered levels of inventory found many prospective buyers competing for the few homes available. Bidding wars weren’t uncommon this year, and luckily we can expect to see many more homes for sale in the spring!

4. Due to increasing home prices, fewer investors purchased homes this past year than during the recession. Instead, we saw a big increase in “move-up” buyers, while first-time homebuyers remained pretty stagnant. We hope to see many more first-time buyers in 2014!