Triangle home sales in 2013 grew 24%

2013 saw an increase in buyers and an improved demand for listed homes.

Triangle home owners in 2013 had a much easier time finding a strong buyer pool for home listing than in any of the past five years, and that trend is expected to continue into 2014.

But now that home prices have started to normalize again, don’t expect to see a huge rise in prices in 2014.

Average home prices in the Triangle rose 4.5 percent to $236,755 in 2013 compared to the year prior, according to the latest report from Triangle Multiple Listing Service. The median home price rose 4.2 percent to $198,000.

Clear Capital, a real estate data firm, forecasts that home prices nationally will rise by 3 percent to 5 percent in 2014, which is close to the historical average. Kiplinger expects an increase of 4 percent.

The number of home sales in the Triangle, though, rose 23.5 percent in 2013 compared to the year prior, with nearly 29,500 home sales recorded through Triangle MLS.

The MLS database is maintained by its real estate agent subscribers from a 16-county area in the greater Triangle region, including Wake, Durham and Orange counties.

On average, home sellers received 95.4 percent of the original list price at closing in 2013 compared to a rate of only 92 percent of the list price two years ago. The average days on market also dropped from 119 days on market in 2011 and in 2012 to an average of 100 days on market in 2013.

In December, home sales were up 21 percent compared to the year prior, the average home price was up 6.5 percent to $244,991, and the median home price was up 8.7 percent to $208,330 compared to December 2012.