Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
According to the latest report from Zillow, homes in the US are selling more quickly compared to a year ago. Homes in Dallas, San Francisco Bay and Sacramento are selling particularly well.
The article in Propertywire shows the median time homes spent on the market in September was just eighty six days, a reduction of thirty days compared to the September of the previous year when homes took 116 days to sell. Homes sold most quickly in San Francisco, taking just 48 days to do so, while property in Sacramento took 59 days, with homes in Dallas only taking fractionally longer at 60 days. All thirty of the large metro areas covered in the Zillow report saw a faster rate of home sales than in the previous September. Metro areas where homes were selling well in September included San Antonio which was 37 days faster than in September 2012, Sacramento at 43 days quicker, and Las Vegas which was 44 days faster.
© Monkey Business - Fotolia.com
Data from Zillow takes into account that homes can be listed, removed from the listings and re-posted with new prices, and considers multiple listings that have occurred within 40 days for the same address as being just one listing. Their data shows that since the beginning of 2010, homes throughout the US have spent an average of 119 days being listed through Zillow before they are either removed from the market or sold.
Another report from the National Association of Realtors shows more people are searching online for their new home. More than half of buyers start looking for a new property online, and just under half actually find the property they'll eventually purchase in this way. During the search for a new home, some 92% will have looked online at some point in the process.
The research carried out by the National Association of Realtors also highlighted the growing popularity of apps for cell phones and tablet use in the search for the perfect home. According to their 2013 report, just under half of recent buyers or 43% used a cell phone or a website on a tablet while searching for property online. Some 22% of those searching for a home in this way managed to find the property they eventually purchased.
Even though home sales are moving more quickly, experts caution against entering into bidding wars or paying over the odds for property. They point out that buyers need to be prepared to move quickly through having pre-approved mortgages, but expect this need to gradually reduce as inventory levels increase and more new construction takes place.
