Median Home Prices Spike 16% Year Over Year

With the median price of single-family homes surging 16% year over year, or about $44,000, they’re less affordable in nearly 80% of the country’s 3,006 counties, reports ATTOM, a curator of national real estate information, today.

Comparing year-over-year first quarter data, ATTOM says the median price for a single-family home has increased from about $276,000 to $320,000.

“It’s no surprise that affordability is more challenging today for prospective homebuyers than it was a year ago,” said Rick Sharga, ATTOM’s executive vice president of market intelligence. “Historically low mortgage rates and higher wages helped offset rising home prices over the past few years but as home prices continue to soar and interest rates approach 5% on a 30-year fixed rate loan, more consumers are going to struggle to find a property they can comfortably afford.”

Freddie Mac says 30-year fixed mortgage rates, on average, were about 3.08% last March. They’ve since increased to 5% today, making homes less affordable today than a year ago, ATTOM says.

ATTOM reports that the counties with populations of at least 1 million that saw the biggest spikes in median prices include St. Louis County, Mo.; Wake County, N.C.; Maricopa County, Ariz.; Collin County, Texas, and Clark County, Nev.

Counties with populations of at least 1 million, where median prices went up the least, include Westchester County, N.Y.; Montgomery County, Md.; Cook County, Ill.; Kings County, N.Y., and Fairfax County, Va., ATTOM says.