This is the Year to Sell Your Home!

Excepted from The Wall Street Journal

Patience seems to have paid off for those who’ve postponed putting their homes on the market until this year, real estate analysts say. They stand to pocket the kind of profits not seen since the housing boom.

Prices surged more than 10% in many markets last year, bidding wars are once again common, and homes are routinely going for well over the asking price in some cities. These trends make it seem like a return to the go-go days of the housing boom.

Single-family homes were selling at an average price of $244,300 in November, up 7.2% from a year prior and the highest price since August 2008, according to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors. Homes in major cities are experiencing big jumps in prices: In the 20 largest metro areas, prices in October increased at the highest year-over-year rate since February 2006, according to data released last month by the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. “All in all, it’s a good time for people to put their home up for sale,” says Celia Chen, senior director with Moody’s Analytics.

The turnaround comes roughly seven years after the housing bust and amid signs that the economic recovery is picking up. As the unemployment rate drops and consumer confidence increases, more buyers are entering the housing market and sellers are finding that they have more leverage in negotiating the going prices of their homes.

Fueling this seller’s market are several factors that have unexpectedly converged: For-sale listings are limited, which is pushing prices up at the same time that mortgage rates are rising. That’s created a sense of urgency among buyers, many of whom fear that the door to affordable real estate in their market may be closing.

In fact, data suggests that buyers are snatching up properties faster now. Homes in November 2013 were selling 11% faster than they were a year prior, according to the latest data from Realtor.com, which tracks for-sale listings. In several cities, that rate is even higher: Homes were selling 20% faster in New York and Miami, for instance, and 18% faster in Chicago and Dallas.

For the full article: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-is-the-year-to-sell-your-home-2014-01-14?link=sfmw