US Real Estate Flying

US home sales bigger and healthier

Home sales in the United States increased 6% year-on-year, with the trend continuing towards “healthy sales”.

New data from CoreLogic showed that annual home sales to November 2013 reached 4.6million – the 23rd consecutive month of year-on-year increases.

Distressed sales made up 16.2% of total sales in November 2013, a much healthier percentage than the 23.1% of a year ago. Distressed sales peaked in January 2009, when they accounted for 32.9% of total sales. Pre-crisis, the share of distressed sales averaged around 2%.
Real-estate owned (REO) sales made up only 10.4% of total home sales, a welcome drop from the peak of 28.3%. CoreLogic pointed out that the decrease in REO sales was a driver of house prices, as REOs typically sell at a larger discount to healthy sales.

Re-sales jumped 16% annually, while new-build sales increased by 14%.

Meanwhile, back in Canada …

140 Hilton Avenue – CASA LOMA

In October, I posted a house on a 30 x 124.5 foot lot at 142 Hilton Avenue in Casa Loma.

It was a good house with quirks, like the sink and dishwasher placement and the toilet in the window, but it was still a good, renovated, move-in-ready house.

It sold for $1,710,000.

This house is located just to the south of 142 Hilton Avenue.

Right after a reader sent in the listing, and the second I saw this picture of the dining room…

The first thing I thought of was this…

‘The Poker Game’ by C. M. Coolidge.

And like the Ewok house at 2888 Panoramic Drive in Vancouver where I couldn’t unsee Ewoks everywhere…

All I can see in this house now are Dogs Playing Poker.

This is a 7 (what!?!) bedroom, 3 bathroom (that sucks) house on a larger 42.67 x 124.5 foot lot.

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