Home prices have been on the rise for the past year. Based on a recent analysis by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), this has been occurring in virtually every metro market in the U.S. In fact, about 1 in 10 metros had double-digit home price gains. Needless to say, this is a direct result of the extremely high buyer demand combined with the historically low inventory of homes for sale.
The 10 metro areas with the highest price increases
This analysis looked at markets of various median price ranges from the $100,000’s to the $600,000’s. The top 5 metro markets actually saw their year-over-year prices increase by over 30%! Below are the top 10 metro markets and their respective price gains:
- Kingston, N.Y. (+35.5%; $303,100)
- Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn. (+34.3%; $580,400)
- Atlantic City-Hammonton, N.J. (+34.0%; $277,200)
- Barnstable Town, Mass. (+33.1%; $567,600)
- Boise City-Nampa, Idaho (+32.8%; $422,600)
- Sherman-Denison, Texas (+29.8%; $234,800)
- Elmira, N.Y. (+29.1%; $126,900)
- Austin-Round Rock, Texas (+28.2%; $437,900)
- Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa. (+27.7%; $119,500)
- Decatur, Ill. (+27.5%; $102,400)
Summary
For perspective, the first quarter of 2020 saw approximately 25% of metro areas with double-digit price growth. At that time, the housing inventory was at 3.3 months. While this is considered a tight inventory, it was a stronger inventory than what we currently have. In the first quarter of 2021, 89% of metro areas (163 out of 183) saw double-digit price growth.
Nationally, the median existing-home sales price rose 16.2% year-over-year to a record high of $319,200. This is the highest level since 1989. All of the four regions tracked recorded double-digit year-over-year price growth as follows:
- Northeast: +22.1%
- West: +18%
- South: +15%
- Midwest: +14.4%
Are you thinking about beginning your South Florida home search? We can help. Contact Live South Florida Realty, Inc. today!
