ZipRealty Study Finds West Coast Metros Buck the Trend in Median Home Sales Price Growth

Lanny Baker

EMERYVILLE, CA– ZipRealty, Inc. (http://www.ziprealty.com) (NASDAQ: ZIPR), the nation’s most prominent online technology-powered residential real estate brokerage firm and real estate marketing solutions provider, has released a new Housing Trends Report, which points to a less-frenzied real estate market compared to last spring.

While the median sales price of $267,215 at the end of October was 14.2% higher on a year-over-year basis, the ZipRealty report indicates that across markets, prices are moderating, the inventory of homes has started to increase and sold-to-list price ratios are trending downward.

However, Sacramento, Las Vegas, the San Francisco Bay Area and Phoenix were the strongest local markets at the end of October, as median sales prices in these metros have increased over the past 30 days, bucking the seasonal trend seen in the overall averages.

Leading Metros for Price Growth

Metro Area	Median Sales Price as of Oct. 31	Year-Over-Year Growth
1.Sacramento	$245,700	37%
2.Las Vegas	$172,100	32%
3.San Francisco Bay Area	$570,000	31%
4.Los Angeles	$352,000	25%
5.Orlando	$142,000	24%

Housing inventory was 382,873 at the end of October 2013, 10% fewer homes for sale than in October 2012.

“Throughout 2013, tighter inventory has contributed to rising home sales prices as eager buyers have competed for a relatively scarce supply of homes. Inventory levels tightened during October 2013, starting the month at 386,500, based on the 10/15/13 Housing Trends Report, and ending the month at 382,873 homes,” explained Lanny Baker, ZipRealty’s CEO and President.

”However, that 1% decline in inventory during October 2013 compares to a 5% decline during the same time frame last year. In other words, the trend in inventory levels points to more supply coming on − and staying on − the market.”

Metros with the Greatest Rise in Inventory

Metro Area	Inventory as of Oct. 31	Year-Over-Year Growth
1.Tucson	5,568	21%
2.Sacramento	8,166	18%
3.Las Vegas	9,599	15%
4.San Diego	6,660	14%
5.Phoenix	21,566	5%

“Sold to-list-price ratios also seem to reflect a slight increase in supply, signaling the beginning of a less-frenzied market, though the average across metros in ZipRealty’s study was still a selling price equal to 98.7% of the listing price.

“ Earlier this year, the ratio hit 100%, a very unusual sign that highlighted a significant imbalance of buyers vs. sellers. Even in October, one-third of the metros analyzed show sold-to-list price ratios of 100% or more,” stated Mr. Baker.

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Stacey Corso
510.735.2667
scorso@ziprealty.com