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The National Association of Realtors’ Metropolitan Median Area Prices and Affordability Report shows affordability becoming less prevalent compared to last year. Only 16 percent (29 out of 178) of metro statistical areas had a lower median price in the second quarter of 2016 than last year, NAR says.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a press that because homebuilding activity has waned and there’s less new inventory, prices have grown beyond income growth in some areas.
“Steadily improving local job markets and mortgage rates teetering close to all-time lows brought buyers out in force in many large and middle-tier cities,” he said.
The median single-family home price in America increased 4.9 percent since the second quarter of 2015, according to NAR. National median single-family home price was $240,700 by the end the second quarter, up $11,300 from 2015.
As demand increased and new supply decreased, over 40 percent of homes sold in the second quarter sold at or above list price. The month of June saw the highest share since NAR began tracking the data in 2012.
“Many listings in a majority of markets – and especially those in lower price ranges – had multiple offers and went under contract quickly because of severely inadequate supply,” Yun said. “This in turn dented affordability, and without a doubt, priced out a segment of buyers attempting to seek relief from fast-growing rents.”
Median single-family home prices
The highest median single-family home price in the country was in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro, according to NAR. Median home price toppled the seven-figure hurtle in San Jose, reaching $1.085 million in the second quarter.
Following in a close second, was the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward metro, where single-family median home price increased 9.5 percent from the second quarter 2015, to $885,600.
Four of the top five metros with highest median price were in California, with Urban Honolulu being the other area.
Single-family median home prices in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale metro were $480,000 in the second quarter. The 6.9 percent quarter-over-quarter increase still left the mark lower than median home price of $506,800 in the third quarter of 2015 — the highest quarter reported.
Median home prices in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro increased 6.9 percent over last year. The $246,400 median home price was also a big spike from the previous quarter’s $208,600 median home price tag. Since 2013, Chicago’s median home price has climbed $55,100.
The median price in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro saw a healthy jump of $36,600 quarter-over-quarter, but the first quarter of 2016 experienced the lowest median home price in Baltimore since 2013. Since the second quarter of 2015, the median price increased 4.4 percent, to $265,800.
Median home price in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro reached its highest mark since 2013, at $406,900. This was a 1.4 percent increase since the second quarter of 2015.
The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metro saw an annual decrease of 1.7 percent in median single-family home prices in the second quarter, reflecting the staggered growth the area has experienced. First quarter prices started off slow in 2016, sitting lower than when 2015 ended, but grew by a few thousand dollars to $217,400 at the end of the second quarter.
The median home price in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro was $310,000 through the second quarter of 2016. This was a 7.3 percent increase from the second quarter of 2015, but a slight decline of $2,000 since the first quarter of this year.
Median home prices in the New York-Jersey City-White Plains metro dropped 5.9 percent year-over-year. There was a steep drop of nearly 10 percent at the end of 2015, and prices have only slightly risen since the first quarter, to the current $366,600.
