Morning Headlines: The Philly-Area Housing Market Is, Quite Simply, Kicking Ass

Forgive the profanity, but RealtyTrac’s July 2013 Residential and Foreclosure Sales Report has very good news for our area–better news, in fact, than yesterday’s terrific month-over-month numbers from Zillow’s July report. RealtyTrac’s report is extensive and detailed, but this is the highlight:

Among 20 of the nation’s largest metro areas with annual sales estimates tracked in the report, the biggest year-over-year increases in sales volume were in Chicago (up 27 percent), Minneapolis (up 23 percent), Baltimore (up 21 percent), Boston (up 20 percent), and Philadelphia (up 20 percent).

That’s not all:

National sales of residential properties–which includes single-family homes, condos, town homes and co-ops–are up 11 percent from last year. That’s the best year-over-year number RealtyTrac has seen in a monthly report in 2013.

No one claims housing is entirely back on track. In fact, every other article says something different. But we choose to see the glass as half-full today. Don’t you?

On to other news…

• RIP Bud MacDonald, commercial Realtor and Ridley Township developer [Inquirer]
• A truck smashed through the window of Hymie’s Deli on the Main Line. It’s not clear yet how much damage has been done to the building–or to the bagels. [philly.com]
• People with second homes at the Shore aren’t getting help rebuilding after Sandy [NewsWorks]
• Casino Rumblings: The House Always Never Wins — a primer on the latest in casino news [philebrity]