Spring ‘boom’ expected in area housing
George Hackett is anticipating an explosion, and he isn’t running for cover.
“Real estate is going to boom this spring,” said the president of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Services, Pittsburgh, and president of West Penn Multi-List, Inc.
“Serious buyers should have their funds buttoned up ahead of time, so when a house comes on the market, they are ready to take action quickly.”
Multi-List issued its monthly report Thursday for the January-February period, which showed a dip in new listings but increases in closed sales, sales volume and average sales price compared with the same two months of 2017:
- Closed sales were up 1.07 percent (3,018 units in 2018 vs. 2,986 in 2017).
- Closed sales volume was up 9.55 percent ($542,452,302 vs. $495,180,324 in 2017).
- Average sale price was up 8.38 percent ($179,739 vs. $165,834 in 2017).
- Home listings were down 11.03 percent (2,314 units vs. 2,601 in 2017).
“I don’t think this trend of low inventory will continue for much longer, and new listings will begin to emerge,” Hackett said. “Before listing a home, sellers should find a real estate agent who is knowledgeable about the market and able to assess the home’s condition.”
West Penn Multi-List tracks residential real estate information in 17 counties: Washington, Greene, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Cambria, Clarion, Crawford, Fayette, Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, Mercer, Somerset, Venango and Westmoreland. For more information, visit http://www.westpennmls.com/.