Asking prices of homes listed for sale on real estate portal Trulia.com in February were up from a year ago in 90 of the 100 largest U.S. metros, according to a monthly report from Trulia released today.
The report, which covers roughly 4.5 million for-sale and for-rent properties listed on Trulia through Feb. 28, showed asking prices up 7 percent from a year ago, and growing by a seasonally adjusted 1.4 percent from January to February — the biggest month-over-month gain since the housing recession began.
February 2013 Trulia asking price summary
| Time period | Change in asking prices | Change in asking prices, excluding foreclosures | No. of 100 largest metros with list-price increases |
| Month-over-month | 1.4% | 1.6% | (N/A) |
| Quarter-over-quarter | 3.0% | 3.5% | 92 |
| Year-over-year | 7.0% | 7.4% | 90 |
Source: Trulia. Monthly and quarterly increases are seasonally adjusted.
Despite these asking price increases, inventory will remain tight throughout 2013, said Trulia’s chief economist, Jed Kolko.
"The inventory turnaround depends not only on how fast prices are rising today, but also whether prices have been rising long enough to encourage homeowners to sell and builders to build," Kolko said in a statement.
As the spring homebuying season begins, Kolko said "buyers face a dilemma between buying now, before prices rise even more, or later this year, when they’ll have more inventory to choose from."
While asking prices are going up, rent prices are slowing their increase, the report showed, increasing 3.2 percent from a year ago, down from November’s year-over-year mark of 5.4 percent.
