The recovery in real-estate values is accelerating, as more and
more markets post gains in median home sale prices.
The National Association of
Realtors reported Monday that the U.S. median home price rose 10% to $178,900
between the fourth quarter of 2011 and the fourth quarter of 2012. That’s the
biggest yearly gain in the median price since the fourth quarter of 2005.
Of the 152 metro areas examined
by the NAR, 133 posted yearly gains in median home price, while prices fell in
19 markets. In the third quarter of 2012, 120 markets showed yearly gains,
while a year ago, in the fourth quarter of 2011, just 29 markets nationwide had
posted annual median price gains.
“Home sales are on a sustained
uptrend,” said Lawrence Yun, the trade group’s chief economist. “Home sales are
being fueled by a pent-up demand and job creation, along with still favorable
affordability conditions and rents rising at faster rates. Our population has
been growing faster than overall housing stock, so supply and demand dynamics
are very much at play.”
Housing markets in Western states
and markets that were coming off of a low bottom after steep home price declines
saw the biggest gains. Phoenix, which fits both of those descriptions, led the
gainers, with prices rising 33.9%, followed by Detroit (31.3%), San Francisco
(28.3%), Cape Coral, Fla. (25.8%) and San Jose (24.8%).
Of the handful of markets where
prices still falling, the upstate New York town of Kingston was the worst
(-7.9%), followed by Kankakee, Ill. (-7.0%), Erie, Penn. (-6.1%), Binghamton,
N.Y., (-5.7%) and Rockford, Ill. (-4.8%).
Overall, median prices in the
West region rose the most–by 20.1%–followed by the Midwest (9.2%), the South
(9.1%) and the Northeast (0.7%).
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