Report: Strong W.Pa. housing market depleting inventories

PITTSBURGH – A strong housing market in the region is tapping into home inventories, according to West Penn Multi-List Inc. in its monthly residential real estate report released Monday.
“With increasing demand for homes, inventory is low,” said Ron Croushore, current president of West Penn Multi-List, and owner and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices The Preferred Realty, Pittsburgh.
“With the school year coming to a close next month, I expect to see the typical pattern of many families aiming to have their new homes closed and settled into by the start of the new school year.”
When comparing January-April 2017 with the same time period in 2016:
• Closed sales are up 3.54 percent (7,702 units in 2017 versus 7,439 in 2016);
• Closed sales volume is up 5.21 percent ($1,296,184,984 in 2017 versus $1,232,017,424 in 2016);
• Average sale price is up 1.62 percent ($168,292 in 2017 versus $165,616 in 2016); and
• Home listings are down 1.03 percent (14,211 units in 2017 versus 14,359 in 2016).
“In this real estate environment, buyers and sellers should move swiftly because houses are not staying on the market for long,” said Croushore.
West Penn Multi-List tracks residential real estate information for its 17-county service area: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Cambria, Clarion, Crawford, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, Mercer, Somerset, Venango, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
For more information, visit http://www.westpennmls.com/.