The Greater Rochester Association of Realtors has released its first quarter housing statistics, showing positive signs for the local housing market.

Transactions during the first quarter of 2012 were up 9 percent, from 1,634 to 1,781, compared to the first quarter of 2011.
 
The number of homes listed for sale increased 1.4 percent from first quarter 2011. That number of homes listed for sale was also up 43 percent from the fourth quarter 2011, while the median sale price for homes remained roughly the same year over year at around $115,000.

Some of the most significant growth in sales during the first quarter 2012 occurred on the west side in the towns of Parma and Chili, while the towns of Webster, Clarkson and Mendon also showed a strong percentage increase.

Ontario County showed nearly an 18 percent increase in the number of homes sold during the first quarter, while the median sales price also remained steady.

“This past quarter marks the third straight quarter of a recorded increase in home sales,” said Steve Babbitt, president of GRAR’s board of directors. “In addition to strong market fundamentals such as historically low mortgage rates and plentiful inventory, the mild winter kept buyers out of hibernation and active on the market.”

(c) 2012 Rochester Business Journal. To obtain permission to reprint this article, call 585-546-8303 or email service@rbj.net.