Median U.S. sales price rises 7.8 percent: report

The median home sales price rose 7.8 percent nationally last month compared to September 2011, according to a new report from RE/MAX. In the same period, sales transactions rose 0.5 percent year-over-year. “Now that the summer buying season is behind us, we can clearly see that the market made a significant rebound, and 2012 is definitely the year of the housing recovery,” said Margaret Kelly, CEO of RE/MAX. “Although we still face some serious obstacles in tight lending and shrinking inventory, we believe that the housing market will continue to recover into 2013.” The median home price was $164,989 in September, according to a survey of 52 metropolitan areas across the United States. — Alexander Britell