February listing and selling activity was slightly down from last year, most likely due to the cold.
Last year, January logged slower activity due to the extreme weather, this year it was February. Year-to-date, for the first two months of 2015, single family residential listings are down 3 percent, at 586, compared to 604 this time last year. Listings for all property types are on par with last year, with a difference of only three listings. There were 909 new listings posted in 2015, compared to 912 at the end of February 2014.
148 sales of single family residential properties were posted in February 2015, a decrease of 12.9 percent over 170 sales recorded in February 2014. Year-to-date, the gap closes to 5 percent, with 309 sales through the end of February, compared to 325 in 2014. Year-to-date sales for all property types differ by only three transactions, with 448 properties sold in 2015, and 451 sold last year.
2015 is looking very much like 2014 so far, when comparing listings and sales, with slight variations attributed to weather. The real difference is in prices. Listing prices for February are 23.4 percent higher than last February. The average listing price for February 2015 was $284,955, compared to $230,791 a year ago. Year-to-date, the difference in listing prices is only 10 percent, at $262,458 this year, compared to $238,725 at this time last year.
The average sale price for February 2015 was up 23.4 percent from last year at $274,182, compared to $222,255 in February 2014. Two months into the year, the average sale price is up 9.4 percent, at $253,321, compared to $231,541 a year ago. Both locally and nationally, the market is expected to grow as new listings reach the market and buyers take advantage of low interest rates.
To see more housing statistics for February 2015, please see this PDF.
