Nine Straight Quarters of Real EstateImprovement in Lancaster County, PA:
A market report for Lancaster County, PA has been recently released by LCAR, the Lancaster County Association of REALTORS®. LCAR represents some 1,300 members involved in all aspects of the real estate industry.
In the third quarter of 2013 there were 1, 432 sales, up 8.2% from 1,323 sold in the third quarter of 2012. The average sale price for September was $187,946, down 0.9% from September 2012’s average of $189,654. The third quarter median sale price – for which half the homes sold below and half sold above – was $171,010, up from $169,900 in the third quarter of 2012.
There were 653 new listings in September 2013, up 10.9% from 589 in September 2012. Pending sales – those homes that went under agreement in September – decreased 0.8% to 393, down slightly from 396 in 2012. However, Lawrence Yun, National Association of REALTORS® Chief Economist, said that the national decline in pending homes sales followed higher than normal levels of settlements over the summer.
Rising interest rates in the spring motivated buyers to "pull the trigger" on purchases over the summer, leading to a six-year sales peak. An LCAR poll of local lenders showed an average 30-year conventional rate of 4.15%, and 3.21% for conventional 15-year loans. Of course, rates may vary with the credit scores of individuals.
LCAR President Mike Julian said, “We have seen nine quarters of continued positive home sale growth, and pending sales numbers have also shown consistent improvement. The numbers paint a picture of the local residential real estate recovery that began in 2011 and brought back stability, confidence, and overall health to a market that was hit hard in preceding years.”
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