Median Home Price Hits New Quarterly Peak

Aug 16, 2017

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased for the ninth consecutive week, reaching its highest level in three years, according to new data from Freddie Mac

The national median existing single-family home price rose by 6.2 percent year-over-year during the second quarter, according to new data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The median home price in the second quarter was $255,600, which surpassed the third quarter of 2016 price of $241,300 as the new peak for a quarterly median sales price.

NAR also reported single-family home prices increased in 87 percent of measured markets during the second quarter, with 154 out of 178 metropolitan statistical areas experiencing year-over-year increases while 23 areas (or 13 percent) recorded lower median prices from a year earlier.

The five most expensive housing markets in the second quarter were the San Jose 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.

The five lowest-cost metro areas 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.
Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, expressed concern that affordable homeownership opportunities are growing scant as home prices continue to rise.

“The glaring need for more new home construction is creating an affordability crisis that needs to be addressed by policy officials and local governments,” Yun said. “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.”

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Phil Hall

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Aug 16, 2017

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