The Triangle housing market showed signs of recovery in January with sales, pending sales and showings all up compared to the same period a year ago.

But the market continued to be rough on sellers. The average sales price of the homes that sold was down 7 percent while the percentage of deals that involved financial concessions from the seller increased.

There were 926 homes sold in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties in January, up 7 percent from the same period a year ago, data from Triangle Multiple Listing Services show.

Pending sales were up 30 percent and showings were up 10 percent.
 

The year-end home sales report released last week by Triangle Multiple Listing Services also included data on the top selling subdivisions in the Triangle.

The battle for first place wasn't even close.

Heritage Wake Forest led the way with 244 closings, or more than twice as many as the next closest community: Wakefield in North Raleigh, which recorded 114 sales.

Heritage's sales are impressive even when you factor in that the community is among the largest in the Triangle.

The Triangle housing market continues to show signs of improvement in the second half of the year.

A total of 4,471 homes sold in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake Counties during the third quarter, up 17 percent from the same period a year ago, Triangle Multiple Listing Services data show.

Pending sales were up 27 percent and showings increased 7 percent.

The inventory of homes on the market also continues to decline, something that needs to happen if prices are to stabilize.
 

After slumping badly towards the end of the year, Triangle home sales ended 2010 down 7 percent compared to the previous year.

There were 20,674 homes sold during 2010 in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties, Triangle Multiple Listing Services data show. That total ranked eight best when compared to the last 16 years.

Home sales in the fourth quarter decreased 31 percent compared to the same period in 2009.

The steep declines in the fourth quarter are further evidence of how the market has struggled without the support of government incentives.

During the same period in 2009, many buyers were rushing to take advantage of a first-time home buyer tax credit they thought would soon expire.

Most markets around the country have seen a sharp drop in sales activity since the tax credits expired last summer.
 

Triangle home sales dropped 27 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period last year as the market continued to feel the effects of a stalled economic recovery and the absence of federal homebuyer tax credits.

There were 3,834 homes sold in Wake, Durham, Orange and Johnston counties during the three months that ended Sept. 30, according to Triangle Multiple Listing Services data.

Showings were off 27 percent and pending sales were down 32 percent.

The supply of houses on the market has also jumped from seven months to 11 months over the past year.

Supply is determined by the time it would take to get through the existing inventory at the current pace of sales.
 

Home sales in the Triangle surged in the second quarter as the market continued to receive a boost from the government tax credits for first-time and repeat buyers.

Sales were up 24 percent in the second quarter when compared to the same period in 2009, Triangle Multiple Listing Services data show.

But there continue to be worrisome signs that activity in the market has slowed considerably with the expiration of the tax credits.

To be eligible for the tax credits buyers had to put a home under contract by April 30. It can take 30 days or longer to close on a house after putting it under contract.

The number of showings in the second quarter, which includes two months of data after the April 30 deadline, dropped 15 percent from the same quarter a year earlier. Pending sales were down 3 percent.

Real estate professionals are watching nervously to see how severe the drop off in sales will be once the effect of the tax credits is no longer being felt.

The end of the tax credits has also caused new housing starts to fall across the country.

They were down 10 percent in May, the biggest decline since March 2009, the U.S. Commerce Department reported.

Home sales in the Triangle jumped again in May as buyers rushed to take advantage of the government’s tax credits for first-time and repeat buyers.

But the expiration of the tax credits, which required eligible buyers to put a home under contract by April 30 and close by June 30, appeared to cause many people to stop looking.

The number of showings in May was down 30 percent from the same month a year earlier, and pending sales were off 5 percent.

Those numbers will only increase anxiety over how the market will react once the tax credits are no longer around to provide a boost.

There were 2,083 homes sold during May in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties, up 26 percent from the same month a year ago, Triangle Multiple Listing Services data show.

The increase was less than the 33 percent year-over-year increase recorded in April.

Sales of new and existing homes in the Triangle jumped 44 percent in October compared to the same month a year ago, according to data from the N.C. Association of Realtors.
At the same time, the average sales price declined 12 percent in October from a year ago, dropping from $248,693 to $219,914.
Last month, MLS data for the Triangle showed that existing home sales in October 2009 in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties were up 26 percent from the same period last year.
The large jump in sales of new and existing homes compared to last year is an indication of just how bad things were a year ago. The increase in sales and the decline in sales prices also reflects the boost being provided by the first-time homebuyer tax credit, which was set to expire today before the government agreed to extend it into next year.
The tax credit allows first-time buyers to reduce their federal income taxes by 10 percent of the price of a home, up to a maximum of $8,000.
The credit was also expanded to include a tax credit of up to $6,500 for repeat buyers who have lived in their houses at least five years.
The new deadline for both tax credits is April 30 to put a home under contract and June 30 to close.