Triangle home sales recent run of double-digit increases continued in November, with sales increasing 11 percent over the same period a year ago.

There were 1,169 homes sold in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties in November, Triangle Multiple Listing Services data show.

Pending sales were up 8 percent while showings declined 3 percent.

The year-over-year comparisons have been strong in recent months in large part because of the influence of the federal homebuyer tax credits. The credits expired at the end of June last year, but sales were depressed for about six months afterward.

The market also continues to benefit from reduced supply.

The number of homes listed for sale in November was 19 percent lower than the same period a year ago.
 

The Triangle housing market continued to show steady improvement in October, with sales increasing 16 percent compared to the same period a year ago.

A total of 1,240 homes were sold in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties in October, Triangle Multiple Listing Services data show. Pending sales were up 11 percent and showings were basically flat, up 1 percent.

The Triangle market has posted double-digit year-over-year increases in recent months, in part because the recent numbers are being compared with a period just after the federal homebuyer tax credits expired.

Those credits expired at the end of June last year, causing sales to drop off immediately afterward.

The Triangle housing market, which has been plagued by too many sellers and not enough buyers since the recession hit, is still waiting for signs of a turnaround this year.

There were 3,041 homes sold during the first three months of the year in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties, Triangle Multiple Listing Services data show.

That was down 8 percent from the same period a year ago. Showings for the quarter were down 20 percent and pending sales were off 30 percent.

The average days on the market for the homes that did sell rose from 102 days to 125 days.

Some declines in the year-over-year comparisons were expected due to the absence of federal tax credits, which expired last summer.

But the first quarter sales, showings and pending sales were also below the same period in 2009.
 

Triangle home sales dipped just slightly in February compared to the prior year, ending the region’s run of five consecutive months of strengthening sales.

There were 945 homes sold during February in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties, down less than one percent from February 2009, Triangle Multiple Listing Services data show.

January and February are traditionally two of the slower months for home sales, which tend to pick up considerably in the second quarter of the year.

Real estate agents are expecting more interested buyers to be out looking this spring as buyers seek to take advantage of historically low interest rates and soon-to-expire federal tax credits.

Monthly showings jumped 15 percent in February compared to the prior year and pending sales were up 8 percent.

The average price of the homes sold in February was $226,400, down five percent from the year before.

Home sales in the Triangle jumped 26 percent in October over the same period last year, a sign that the housing market appears to have regained its footing after tanking this time last year.
There were 1,687 existing homes sold during October in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties, Triangle Multiple Listing Services data show. The number of home showings was up 12 percent in October compared with the same period last year, while the number of sales pending increased 27 percent.
“We’ve bounced up off of a bottom, and I think that’s a good sign,” said Stacey Anfindsen, a Cary appraiser who analyzes MLS data for Triangle real estate agents.
October was the second straight month that the Triangle had shown a year-over-year increase after not recording one since 2007.
But Anfindsen warned that the spike in sales and pending sales should not be viewed as a sign that the Triangle housing market is taking off again.