Existing-home sales rose to 4.62 million (seasonally adjusted annualized rate) in April from a downwardly revised March rate of 4.47 million, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Tuesday. Economists had forecast the April sales pace would be 4.66 million.

The median price of an existing home climbed 10.1 percent to $177,400 from $161,100 in April 2011, the strongest year-to-year gain since January 2006. The median price in April reached its highest level since July 2010 when it was $182,100.

The inventory of homes for sale in April rose to 2.54 million, the highest level since last November, bringing the months’ supply of homes on the market to 6.6.

The 10.0 percent yearly gain in the sales rate was the strongest since October when sales were up 14.0 percent year-over-year.

Distressed homes – foreclosures and short sales sold at deep discounts – accounted for 28 percent of April sales (17 percent were foreclosures and 11 percent were short sales), down from 29 percent in March and 37 percent in April 2011, the NAR said. Foreclosures sold for an average discount of 21 percent below market value in April (compared with an average discount of 19 percent in March), while short sales were discounted 14 percent in April compared with 16 percent in March.

The months’ supply of existing homes for sale remains well below the July 2010 cyclical peak of 12.4 which had been the highest level since 1982. Inventories as tracked by the NAR are 20.3 percent below their year ago level. However, anecdotal evidence suggests there is still a large “shadow” inventory of homes available for sale, especially bank-owned properties.

Regionally, existing-home sales rose in April in every region of the country led by a 5.1 percent month-to-month increase in the Northeast where sales were up19.2 percent over April 2011. Sales rose 4.4 percent over March in the West (a 7.3 percent year-year gain), 3.5 percent in the South (6.5 percent year-year) and 1.0 percent in the Midwest (14.4 percent year over year).

The median price of an existing home rose month-to-month and year-to-year in all four regions. At $256,600, the median price of an existing home reached its highest level since August 2010. The median price of an existing home in the South rose to $153,400, the highest level since July 2010 and the median price of an existing home in the West rose to $221,700, also the highest since July 2010.

The year-to-year price gain in the West, 15.9 percent, was the strongest since November 2005. The year-to-year price increase in the Northeast was the first since last June.

MCLEAN, Va., March 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing mortgage rates continuing to follow bond yields higher amid improving economic data. The average 30-fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.08 percent for the week clearing the 4 percent barrier for the first time since October 27, 2011, when it averaged 4.10 percent. 

News Facts

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.08 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending March 22, 2012, up from last week when it averaged 3.92 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.81 percent. 
• 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.30 percent with an average 0.8 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.16 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.04 percent. 
• 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.96 percent this week, with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.83 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.62 percent.

Six-Figure Silicon Valley

In Silicon Valley, annual tech salaries topped six figures for the first time since the survey began about a decade ago. The highest in the nation, Silicon Valley’s annual salary of $104,195, increased five percent year/year. In addition, bonuses are both fatter and more frequent in Silicon Valley – with 38 percent of tech professionals receiving bonuses at an average of $12,450.

While the Valley’s resurgence is well documented, other tech markets did exceptionally well too. In fact, 12 of the top 20 cities for tech jobs had above average wage growth. The largest: Austin, Texas with a 13 percent jump in pay to average $89,419. Portland, Oregon showed an annual wage increase of 12 percent to $82,055; Houston saw seven percent growth ($89,307); and Washington D.C. experienced nearly six percent growth ($94,317).

Chicago and Seattle each garnered five percent increases in average tech salaries, Denver and Dallas/Ft. Worth managed four percent growth, while New York, Los Angeles and Raleigh, North Carolina each increased three percent.

“Conventional wisdom says that as Silicon Valley goes, so goes the tech world. That’s true, and Silicon Valley is going well, but it doesn’t tell the entire story when it comes to tech employment,” added Mr. Silver. “Nationally, we’re seeing stiffer competition and higher salaries for tech pros with the right skill sets and the right experience level.”

Difference Makers: Skills and Experience 

While salaries are on the rise among technology professionals, entry-level salaries continue to be pushed downward, according to the survey. The professionals who generally saw their wages increase were those with 11 or more years of experience in their field.

The skills that commanded six-figure salaries and had above average year/year growth are:

	2011 Average Salary	Yr/Yr Growth
ABAP – Advanced Business Application Programming	$109,157	3%
SOA -Service Oriented Architecture	$108,210	6%
ETL – Extract Transform and Load	$106,521	6%
Weblogic	$103,702	5%
JDBC-Java Database Connectivity	$102,630	5%
UML-Unified Modeling Language	$102,579	6%
JBoss	$102,184	5%
WebSphere	$100,348	7%

 

“This looks like a push towards enterprise java — with WebSphere, JBoss and WebLogic showing outsized gains,” said Alice Hill, Managing Director, Dice.com. “Not to mention, a continuation of the trends we’ve seen toward tech professionals helping their companies gain more insight into their cost structures, customer behavior and emerging trends. If tech professionals spark companies to win by harnessing their data, that’s when the tech department is no longer seen as a cost center, but a strategic partner in meeting companies’ goals.”

This is another data point that Silicon Valley is recovering better than the rest of the country. The compensation levels will translate into further improvements of real estate markets. The competition for the most desirable locations like Palo Alto, Los Altos and Mountain View will get even more fierce than what we were observing over the course of 2011. If you are thinking about selling your home, there is no reason to wait. Low inventories and dramatic improvements in job market coupled with record low interest rates will enable you to get top dollar for your property here in the Valley.