Real estate sales proving 'steady'

The housing market typically is known for having ups and downs - the popular spring selling season, for example, or slow winters.

But 2012 is bucking that trend, according to the latest information from residential real estate giant Allen Tate Cos.

"We have been steady, steady, steady since January," president and chief operating office Pat Riley said in a statement Monday. He said the company has consistently had 55 sales per day and 45 closings per day across its markets in the Carolinas throughout the year.

Recent years, in contrast, had either a more positive first half or second half of the year, he has told the Observer.

Allen Tate expects to end the year with around 15,500 closings, up 20 percent from the past three years and "well on par" with 2008, Riley said.

Some of the reasons cited for the increase: Low interest rates, high rents, and low supply of available homes.

New construction will soon offer competition to the resale market, Riley predicts, as buyers are buying up lots and will offer new homes at prices set for today's market.

In all, he says, he's confident the market has turned the corner.