Residential sales in May 2012 are up, and that is good news! Estimates released yesterday jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development say the May rates are 7.6 percent above the revised April rate and 19.8 percent above the May 2011 estimate.

The median sales price of new houses sold in May 2012 was $234,500; the average sales price was $273,900. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of May was 145,000.  This represents a supply of 4.7 months at the current sales rate. New residential sales data for June 2012 will be released on Wednesday, July 25, 2012.

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa.

Toby Froehlich, of Coldwell Banker Select sent out good news this week with big increases in sales and average home prices for our region. In Erie County, 749 single units sold by May 31 of 2012 compared to 621 in 2011. The average sale price was $129,408 in 2011 and $139,931 in 2012. That’s an 8.13 percent increase.

The biggest jump was in Summit where 21 homes sold this year compared to 15 last year. The average sale price was $219,420 in 2012 compared to 2011′s $184,833 — a whopping 18.7 percent increase.

In Edinboro, 42 homes sold this year compared to 31 last year. The average sale price was $163,372 in 2012 compared to 2011′s $143,368 — a 13.9 percent increase.

In Harborcreek, 72 homes sold this year compared to 51 last year. The average sale price of $140,897 is an increase over 2011′s $127,894 — a 10.85 percent increase. The entire graph is embedded below.

Also, please check out video tours of homes in our region with me as the tour guide(!) right here.

Here’s the entire snapshot of the region:

Thanks to Toby Froehlich!

Pam Parker is an award-winning writer and editor for Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa.