The data from Q1 2008 is in. We published our National Real Estate Report today. Key Highlights:
Here's the press release.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – April 3, 2008 – The Altos 10-City Composite showed a decline in asking prices of 1.7% over the past three months and continued that decline in March with a decrease of 1.3% for the month. Prices of properties listed for-sale fell in 14 of 23 major markets according to the Real-Time Real Estate Report, jointly published by Altos Research, the premier source for real-time real-estate research, and market analysis consultancy Real IQ™.
Asking prices fell at the fastest rate in Chicago - down 3.9% during March - driven by a large increase in for-sale property inventory of 12.3%. The largest quarterly declines occurred in San Francisco and Las Vegas, off 5.3% and 5.2% respectively. Prices were also down by more than two percent for the quarter in San Diego, Detroit, Los Angeles, Tampa, Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis. Listing prices were up by at least one percent for the quarter in Charlotte, Dallas and Houston.
As the typically strong spring selling season gets underway, we are seeing sellers marking down prices to move their homes,” said Michael Simonsen, CEO and co-founder of Altos Research. “The seasonal inventory buildup is only going to exacerbate the near-term supply-demand imbalance and put more pressure on sellers to reduce their price expectations.”
For-sale listed property inventories increased in 17 of 23 markets during March and all markets showed increases during the first quarter. The Altos 10-City Composite experienced an increase of 4.7% for the month and 7.4% during the first quarter.
Data in the Real-Time Housing Market Report is based on analysis of over one million properties currently listed for-sale in 23 metropolitan markets across the country. The report is the most timely source of housing market data on current market activity.
For the Altos 10-City Composite, the average days-on-market was 118 – an improvement from 121 in February and 124 in January. Miami and Detroit experienced the longest time-on-market spans with an average days-on-market of 146. San Francisco led all markets with the fastest rate of inventory turnover at an average of 65 days-on-market, followed closely by Austin at 67 days. Listing price reductions by San Francisco sellers over the quarter appears to be stoking demand and reducing average time-on-market.
The slight decline in average days-on-market is a positive sign,” said Stephen Bedikian, partner and research director for Real IQ, “but it’s likely to be only temporary as the inventory build up overwhelms tepid demand and drives time-on-market back upward.”
The report examines housing pricing, inventory levels and market conditions in 23 major U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs): Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, and Washington, DC. The first report was published December 7, 2007 and will be released every month.
