Trulia: Asking Prices Up 7 Percent, Inventory Falling

• March 5, 2013

by Shilpi Paul

Asking prices for homes across the country are now 7 percent higher than they were a year ago, reported Trulia on Tuesday, while inventory fell 23 percent nationwide. However, the chronically low inventory that the entire country (including the DC area) has been experiencing may not last for a whole lot longer.

“Higher prices lead to more inventory – in the long term,” said Trulia’s Chief Economist Jed Kolko. “As prices keep rising, more homeowners decide it’s worthwhile to sell, especially those who get back above water, which adds to inventory. Also, builders take rising prices as a cue to rev up construction activity, which also adds to inventory.”

Asking prices rose 1.4 percent between January and February, the highest gain since the home recovery began, according to Trulia’s latest Price and Rent Monitor. Nationwide prices rose 7 percent between February 2012 and February 2013, and 3 percent quarter-over-quarter.

In the DC area, prices rose 7.3 percent annually and 2.8 percent quarter-over-quarter, compared to 6.2 percent between January 2012 and January 2013.

As prices rise, rent increases in the nation are starting to slow down, rising 3.2 percent year-over-year and actually falling in markets like San Francisco. Asking rents in the DC area are up 2.3 percent annually. At this time last year, Trulia found that rents had increased on an annual basis by 5.2 percent i the region.

For more stats and analysis, click here.

A full explanation of Trulia’s methodology can be found here, but in short, the Price and Rent Monitors compare current asking prices and asking rents year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter, adjusting for seasonal swings.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/trulia_asking_prices_up_7_percent_inventory_falling/6743