About Sam Spatter

Sam Spatter 412-320-7843
Business Writer
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Contact Us | Video | RSS | Mobile

Daily Photo Galleries

Friday - May 17, 2013

Thursday - May 16, 2013

Wednesday - May 15, 2013

A double-digit increase in pending home sales in 2012 shows Western Pennsylvania's housing market had a strong year, West Penn Multi-List Inc. said on Thursday.

Figures from the region's largest listing agency showed a 10.1 percent jump in houses placed under sales agreement last year to 36,708, compared to 33,338 in 2011. Closings on pending sales agreements usually occur one to two months later; most but not all are completed.

Multi-List covers a 12-county region and includes transactions handled by its member agents.

The last double-digit increase was in 2002, said George Hackett, Multi-List president and president of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Services in Pittsburgh.

“Now that the housing market is gaining strength on a national level, we anticipate our local market to continue to make gains, too,” he said.

Market improvement was illustrated by a decline in the average number of days houses were on the market, falling to 93 days last year from 100 days the previous year, the report said.

Multi-List reported the average sale price last year was $165,977, up 6.15 percent from $156,345 in 2011.

New listings showed an improvement during the year at 36,381, a 1.4 percent increase from 35,883 the year before. Real estate agents said last year that the market had been hindered by lower inventories of homes for sale.

In December, there was a 10.3 percent increase in pending sales to 2,321, compared to 2,104 in the same month in 2011. The average sales price rose 10.6 percent, to $165,482 from $149,579, the report said.

Houses were on the market in December an average of 71 days, a 26.8 percent improvement over 97 days for that month in 2011.

In December, the number of new houses listed for sale was 1,561, a 1.7 percent increase over 1,535 a year earlier.

Multi-List agents cover Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Washington, Westmoreland, Fayette, Greene, Clarion, Lawrence, Mercer and Somerset counties.

Sam Spatter is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7843 or sspatter@tribweb.com.

1. As yen falls, so does cost of products from Japan
2. Automated teller machine fees up 20 percent in 5 years
3. Americans fail to find jobs as firms hire foreigners
4. Web giants likely to battle for music fans’ attention
5. Idaho spud giant bets on biotech potatoes
6. Year after IPO, Facebook aims to be ad colossus
7. PPG Corning bankruptcy plan receives preliminary approval
8. Government OKs Texas LNG plan
9. Pa. jobless rate declines as fewer look for work
10. Stocks charge higher on hopeful economic reports
11. Study: Retirees face declining standard of living

Subscribe today! Click here for our subscription offers.