The Top 4 Reasons Why Philadelphia Real Estate Agents Are Looking Forward to Spring - Springtime symbolizes new beginnings, as flowers start to bloom, trees regain their leaves, and the dark dull colors of winter are replaced by signs of new life. But in our country's birthplace, flowers aren't the only things expected to bloom this Spring! Realtors in Philadelphia expect a surge in the local housing market in the coming months – meaning that warmer temperatures and sunnier skies aren't the only reasons they're looking forward to Spring. In fact, they have several reasons to be excited about what the future holds for the housing market in the City of Brotherly Love:

1. Sales prices are on the rise
According to recently-released data, the median sales price for a home in the Philadelphia area during the fourth quarter of 2012 was $137,450. That's a 16.1% increase from the same time period in 2011. Like other metropolitan areas, Philadelphia is starting to see consumer confidence in the housing market return, meaning more prospective buyers are now actively searching to purchase a home. The result? Steadily increasing home prices. The higher demand means sellers can charge more for their homes, essentially creating bidding wars between buyers, and that's always good news for homeowners and their realtors!

2. Listing Prices are holding steady
Oftentimes, a homeowner's listing price and the actual sale price of the home can be very different. This is especially true in a market that is flooded with distressed properties due to foreclosure and short sales. Basically what happens is that the distressed properties end up selling for prices well below what the homes are actually worth, and in an effort to compete, “normal” sellers have to drop their prices, too. In the end, the value of every home on the market is affected because no one wants their home viewed as “overpriced” by prospective buyers. In Philadelphia, the average listing price last week was $213,135. That number has stayed relatively the same throughout the Winter, which is when home sales tend to drop off. The fact that we are seeing listing prices hold steady during the real estate market's slow period means sellers are confident that they can get the price they are asking for when sales pick back up in the Spring – which is, typically, the busiest time of year for homebuyers.

3. Homes in all price ranges are selling
No matter how much your home is worth, if it's located in Philadelphia, someone may be interested in purchasing it! If you take a look at the five most popular neighborhoods for home sales in the area, both Rittenhouse Square and Manayunk make the list. That's significant when you compare the average listing price of homes in those two communities. Real estate statistics show that the average listing price in Rittenhouse Square was $1,068,422 last week, which is almost four times higher than the average listing price in Manayunk ($273,982). Because both of these neighborhoods are among the most popular with buyers, it proves that a well-maintained home in good condition will sell, regardless of its size and/or price.

4. More listings
Many homeowners are leery of listing their homes during the winter months because they know there are fewer buyers actively searching the market for a home during that time of year. When spring rolls around, many of those same homeowners decide to list their home, and experts expect even more inventory this year since sellers know that buyer confidence is on the rise.

What does this mean?
For buyers and their realtors, it means more variety to choose from, and consequently, the market starts to favor buyers. For sellers, that could be bad news, but their realtors know that a properly-priced home will sell in any housing climate, especially one that is blossoming like Philadelphia's.