April home sales continue torrid pace locally
Washington County saw its existing home sales jump nearly 20 percent in April, according to the latest regional residential sales data.
The county also saw the average price of a new home soar 43 percent in April, while the average price for an existing home climbed by 38 percent over April 2012’s results.
Pittsburgh-based RealStats, which tracks residential real estate sales in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland counties, reported Wednesday that home sales across the region continued at a torrid pace in April.
The agency noted that a year ago, buyers spent $14.5 million daily on homes in April. That figure compares to $18 million last month as year-over-year dollar activity surged 30 percent in the Pittsburgh region.
According to RealStats, 2,324 homes changed hands last month, totaling $396 million, compared to April 2012’s 1,915 homes that sold for a total of $306 million. The average home price climbed 6.8 percent from $159,572 to $170,432, while the median rose 3.1 percent from $131,000 to $135,000.
“When we see average price climb at a faster rate than the median, it tells us that the higher priced homes are selling more so than other market segments,” said RealStats Vice President Daniel Murrer.
Murrer’s premise was demonstrated by April’s new construction figures where dollar activity was up $16.2 million, or 42.3 percent. Buyers purchased 164 new homes last month compared to 129 a year ago and paid on average $306,740.
Twenty-three of those new homes were sold in Washington County in April, at an average price of $385,128, up 43 percent from the 18 new homes that went for an average price of $267,939 in April 2012. Total dollar volume for new homes almost doubled from a year ago, with April’s final figure standing at $8,857,951, up from $4,822,903 recorded in April 2012.
Washington County fared just as well in the existing homes sales category, with 191 homes changing hands, up 31 units from 2012. All counties surveyed, with the exception of Westmoreland County, saw their existing home prices climb.
The average price of an existing home in Washington County this April was $204,200, soaring 38 percent over the April 2012 average price of $147,185. Total dollar volume of the local homes sold was $39,002,294, up from $23,549,656 recorded in April of a year ago.
Based in Pittsburgh, RealStats gathers its information from deeds and tax assessment records. Its figures are based on recorded arm’s length sales of homes, townhomes and duplexes with a price of at least $10,000 in the five counties it covers. New construction statistics do not include private contracts to build or lot transfers with contracts to build.