Northwest Indiana home sales rebounded in March after a February drop, posting an increase of more than 15 percent over the same month a year ago.
That represented a 15.4 percent increase over last March's 767 sales. The median selling price was stable, increasing 0.6 percent to $142,400.
Sales nationally also rose in March. A total of 5.71 million sales represented a 5.9 percent increase over March 2016, according to the National Association of Realtors. The Northeast and Midwest led the way.
"The early returns so far this spring buying season look very promising, as a rising number of households dipped their toes into the market and were successfully able to clsoe on a home last month," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement accompanying the association's announcement of sales results.
Yun said the inventory of homes for sale remains tight, but rose enough in March to boost sales.
"Sales will go up as long as inventory does," Yun said, though he also described the supply "lackluster."
That has helped lead to rising prices, which will continue "until we see significant and sustained multi-month increases in housing starts," Yun predicted.
The average mortgage rate continues to creep up, as well. According to Freddie Mac, the average for a 30-year, conventional fixed-rate mortgage was 4.2 percent in March, up slightly from February. The average for all of 2016 was 3.65 percent.
Locally, the first quarter saw a 4.4 percent rise in sales as compared to the first quarter of 2016, according to GNIAR. For the year through March, 2,042 sales have closed. The first quarter's median sale price is barely changed, up 0.1 percent to $140,000.
Lake County's March included 528 sales, up 15 percent from a year ago, with a median price increase of 2.8 percent to $146,000. Porter County saw a 13.2 percent sales increase to 171 and a 12.9 percent price increase to $192,000. LaPorte County had slower growth, 5.1 percent to 103 homes, and a 12.3 percent median price drop to $103,000.