According to the June 2011 RE/MAX National Housing Report, home sales and values both increased during the month across 53 metro areas in 45 states.

Overall, closed transactions taking place during the month were up 7.5 percent and median prices increased 4.5 percent from May. Furthermore, residential inventories were down, continuing what is now a 12-month downward trend, which may have taken place because of the nation's reduced number of foreclosures.

"It's very encouraging that both home prices and sales transactions have now risen for several months in a row,” said RE/MAX CEO Margaret Kelly. "It appears that this market is following traditional seasonal trends as it works its way through a recovery and back to more normal conditions."

While the year's buying season had gotten off to the slow start, RE/MAX reports, the seasonal performance has gotten back on track, as more metro areas now have experienced significant growth. Some areas have yet to record these gains, however, as unemployment, tighter lending standards from banks and weaker consumer confidence have increased.

While Burlington, Vermont, had the greatest number of closed transactions at 32.2 percent, Houston was recently named the fastest-growing metro area during the last 10 years by a Rice University study. Thus, the Houston real estate market has experienced its own gains during the last decade.

Courtesy of 2M Realty News