Daily Market Update: Homes are selling fast as spring buyers search in tight markets

Homes are selling fast as spring buyers search in tight markets… Murdoch lists Manhattan penthouse for $72 million… House sales jump almost 40 per cent in northeast Ohio…

Homes are selling fast as spring buyers search in tight markets
Homebuyers in California are having to move fast to find and buy their new home; while those in New York State can take their time a bit. Analysis from Trulia of homes listed on their site in February and again in April has found the markets where homes are selling the fastest. Trulia says its metric is similar to days-on-market (DOM) but that it is not skewed by a large increase in new inventory that may slow down the market’s DOM. The website’s figures show that nationally 60 per cent of homes for sale in February were still listed in April; that’s down from 62 per cent a year ago and has been driven by lower-value homes. In San Francisco the percentage still listed after 2 months is just 26 per cent while in Albany, NY it is 71 per cent.
 
Murdoch lists Manhattan penthouse for $72 million
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is hoping to boost his already-substantial bank balance with a multi-million dollar real estate profit. Murdoch is listing his three-storey penthouse on floors 58-60 at Manhattan’s One Madison for $72 million having bought it last year. The price he paid then was $57.25 million but that included a single-floor apartment on the 57th floor, which is not part of the new listing. The home covers around 6,850 square feet and a wraparound terrace with stunning views of the Empire State Building and Hudson and East rivers. Mr Murdoch is understood to be moving to a downtown townhouse which he bought last year for $25 million. The triplex is being listed by Dolly Lenz of Dolly Lenz Real Estate.
 
House sales jump almost 40 per cent in northeast Ohio
Northeast Ohio saw the annual rate of home sales surge in March, rising 18.6 per cent from a year earlier. Houses increased by 17.7 per cent while condos, which make up a small part of the market, were up 27.6 per cent. Monthly sales increased from February by 37.6 per cent for houses to 3,018; condo sales increased by 52.9 per cent to 319. Figures from the Northern Ohio Regional MLS show that the average sale price for houses was $139,270 in March, up 8.9 per cent from a year before, while condo prices increased by 3 per cent from the previous year to $115,717.