Triangle home sales jump 33 percent in April

Triangle home sales jumped 33 percent in April compared to the previous year as the market continued to benefit from the government's tax credit program for first-time and repeat buyers.

The deadline to be eligible for those tax credits was April 30 to put a home under contract and June 30 to close.

There were 1,880 homes sold during April in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties, Triangle Multiple Listing Services data show.

More people also put their homes on the market, as the number of homes listed during April was up 25 percent compared to the same period a year ago.

Other positive year-over-year data in the April numbers included:

* The number of days a house spent on the market before being sold declined from 103 to 98

* The current supply of inventory declined from nine months to seven months.

* The average price of a home sold increased from $216,000 to $230,000

The question many real estate professionals are asking is what happens after June when the sales data will not include buyers taking advantage of the tax credit program.

Pending sales, a sign of future sales, totaled 1,805 in April, less than 2 percent above the same month last year.

It will also be important that the market continue to record year-over-year increases given how bad the first half of 2009 was.

The April data continued to show the difficulties facing people trying to sell homes priced at $300,000 and higher.

The supply of resale homes on the market priced at $300,000 and higher ranges between 24 and 64 months. That's the amount of time it would take to burn of the supply at the current pace of sales.