Pittsburgh Housing Market is UP!

The Pittsburgh housing market saw a 17.03 percent increase in the number of properties placed under sales agreement in June, according to a new report released Monday.

There were 4,247 agreements signed last month compared to 3,629 for the same month last year, according to the latest Southwestern Pennsylvania residential real estate report from West Penn Multi-list, which services 13 counties in the region.

Also up was the home sales price, with the average reaching $186,457, a 2.38 percent increase over the $182,119 a year ago June.

“The consistent increase of homes placed under agreement lays claim to a healthy economic indicator for the residential real estate market,” said George Hackett, president of the Multi-List and president of Coldwell Banker Real Estate. It normally takes one- to two-months for a house sale to close, and not all agreements go through.

“We're half way through 2013 and are enjoying a nearly 10 percent increase in homes placed under agreement,” he said.

New listings also were up in June, with 3,742 a 4.29 percent increase over the 3,588 a year ago. The number of days a house was on the market, however, declined, averaging 80 days, down 9.09 from 88 a year ago.

Sam Spatter is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7843 or sspatter@tribweb.com.