If you are a fervent follower of this blog, you already know that residential real estate sales have been climbing this year compared to last, and that prices have risen slightly and remain stable. In fact, our latest Market Report showed a 9.0% increase in sales, and a 1.0% rise in average sales price year-to-date.

Now, on a regional scale, single family residential sales have increased by 16.3%, and prices have increased by 8.1%. Condo sales have jumped even more, with sales rising by 35.3% and prices by 7.7%. Take a look at the rest of the nation and how it ranks compared to the south. (Thanks to KCM for sharing this information!)

This goes along with more good news: several news sources are saying that US pending home sales jumped to nearly a 6-year high due to steady job gains and record-low mortgage rates. Buying a home is becoming even more attractive to many who have been sitting on the fence for months or even years.

The question is… will the real estate market continue to grow? Only time will tell, really, but perhaps we’ve seen the worst for a while. We do look forward to what 2013 will bring for our local market!