Home prices up 12.2%, highest in nearly 7 years!

New statistics from the National Association or Realtors shows that home prices and values for that matter have risen to a 7 year high.  Prices are up 12.2%!  While this sounds like a bad thing for buyers, in actuality it's great news,  Why?  Because as I have been blogging for the last few months, this will inspire a lot of sellers who have been holding out.

There are tons of short sales and foreclosures, there's no doubt about that but the ratio of standard listings to these other sales types is expected to shift.  In the last few years, private owners have been holding out and waiting for the market to recover so they can list their homes for sale.  Of course, a fast nickel doesn't always beat a slow dime and good things come to those who wait.  In this case, those rewards will be a 12.2% higher take away.

It is evident in the volume of new standard listings that have been added in recent weeks.  We're also seeing a lot of chatter from sellers that have been on the fence about listing, they're asking questions and talking more seriously about listing right away.  We do expect and influx of new listings over the next few months and especially towards the beginning of 2014.  While we don't expect a completely flooded market to happen, there is a good chance that home prices and values will continue to rise.

Consumers are happy about what they're seeing but they don't have confidence that it will continue in such a drastic way.  Their gut feelings are probably correct to a degree.  This is because as prices rise, so does inventory and just as a lot of economic models will show, the market has a way of balancing itself out.  This also seems to be a microcosm of the country's economic health as well.  What this means is that we can all rest at least a little easier these days.