Triangle Home Sales Up 1 percent in July 2014

Through the first seven months of the year, home sales in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties are up 2 percent compared with the same period last year, Triangle Multiple Listing Services data show. By comparison, home sales surged 24 percent last year.

Triangle home sales inched up 1 percent in July compared with the same period last year, as the housing market continued to level off after experiencing big year-over-year gains in 2013.

Through the first seven months of the year, home sales in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties are up 2 percent compared with the same period last year, Triangle Multiple Listing Services data show. By comparison, home sales surged 24 percent last year.

Most housing analysts expect the Triangle to post annual sales growth this year in the low single digits as the region is not experiencing the kind of robust job growth needed to sustain such double-digit increases.

“I think we’re going to flat line for the rest of the year,” said Stacey Anfindsen, a Cary appraiser who analyzes MLS data for area real estate agents. “It will just be 2 percent. We won’t see much movement in these numbers. The market we’ve had for the past six months will be the one we finish up with.”

The number of homes listed for sale continues to rise slowly, increasing 4 percent in July compared with the same month a year ago. The uptick in inventory is being driven largely by new home listings, which were up 23 percent while the number of existing homes on the market declined 1 percent.

The average price of the homes that sold in July was just over $260,000, up 4 percent. The average was the highest for July since 2010.

By David Bracken dbracken@newsobserver.com August 12, 2014