California Named Priciest Q3 Home Market

Seven of the 10 most expensive housing markets in the third quarter were located in California, according to new data from National Association of Realtors (NAR).

San Jose was the epicenter of very-very-expensive housing: the median existing single-family price was $1,000,000. In comparison, second-ranked San Francisco provided a bastion of affordable housing: its median existing single-family price was $835,400. Rounding out the top five was the urban section of the Hawaiian capital Honolulu ($745,300) and California’s Anaheim-Santa Ana metro ($740,100) and San Diego ($589,300). In comparison, the national median existing single-family home price in the third quarter was $240,900, up 5.2 percent from the third quarter of 2015 ($228,900).

But California is hardly alone in fast rising home prices: NAR reported that 155 out of 178 metropolitan statistical areas that it analyzes recorded year-over-year gains based on closed sales in the third quarter, while only 22 areas (12 percent) recorded lower median prices from a year earlier.

“Mortgage rates around historical lows and solid local job creation created a winning formula for sustained homebuying demand all summer long,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Unfortunately for house hunters in several of the top job producing metro areas around the country, deficient supply levels limited their options and drove prices higher – especially in markets in the West and South.”