Price Hikes in 87% of Markets; New Record Set
Median home prices in the second quarter eclipsed a record high set in 2016, jumping 6.2 percent year over year as the inventory crunch continues to push property values higher, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.
The national median price for an existing single-family home was $255,600, up from $240,700—the previous high—in the second quarter of 2016, NAR reported Wednesday. Prices for single-family homes rose in 87 percent of U.S. housing markets; 23 metros saw double-digit increases.
“The 2.2 million net new jobs created over the past year generated significant interest in purchasing a home in what was an extremely competitive spring buying season,” says NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. “Listings typically flew off the market in under a month—and even quicker in the affordable price ranges—in several parts of the country. With new supply not even coming close to keeping pace, price appreciation remained swift in most markets.”
Yun continues to urge for more new-home construction to meet the demand in the housing market. “An increasing share of would-be buyers are being priced out of the market and are unable to experience the wealth-building benefits of homeownership,” he says.
Total existing-home sales, which includes single-family homes and condos, dropped 0.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million in the second quarter, NAR reports. Sales are still 1.6 percent higher than a year ago.
But at the end of the second quarter, 1.96 million existing homes were available on the market, a 7.1 percent drop from a year ago. The average supply in the second quarter was at 4.2 months.
“Mortgage rates have subsided in recent months, which has only somewhat helped take away some of the sting prospective buyers are experiencing with the deteriorating affordability conditions in many areas,” Yun says. “Household incomes may be rising and giving consumers assurance that now is a good time to buy, but these severe inventory shortages will likely continue to be a drag on sales potential in the second half of the year.”
The five priciest housing markets in the second quarter were: San Jose, Calif., metro area, where the median existing single-family price was $1,183,400; San Francisco, $950,000; Anaheim-Santa Ana, Calif., $788,000; urban Honolulu, $760,600; and San Diego, $605,000.
Meanwhile, the five lowest-cost metros in the second quarter were: Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio, $87,000; Cumberland, Maryland, $98,200; Decatur, Illinois, $107,400; Binghamton, New York, $109,000; and Elmira, New York, $111,600.