NAR: Home Prices Soar Nationwide

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Home buyers may be getting a price shock. Nearly every metro area saw year-over-year home price increases in the first quarter. What’s more, 89% of metro areas across the country posted double-digit gains, according to the latest quarterly report from the National Association of REALTORS®, released on Tuesday.

The median existing single-family sales price rose to $319,200, registering an annual increase of 16.2%—a record high, according to records dating back to 1989.

“Significant price increases throughout the country simply illustrate strong demand and record low housing supply,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “The record high home prices are happening across nearly all markets, big and small, even in those metros that have long been considered off the radar in prior years for many home seekers.”

Home sellers are certainly benefiting from the sharp price increases, but buyers are facing challenges. The average national monthly mortgage payment increased to $1,067 in the first quarter—up from $995 a year ago. The increase in the monthly mortgage payment came even as the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to as low as 2.93% in the first quarter (a year earlier it averaged 3.57%).

“The sudden price appreciation is impacting affordability, especially among first-time home buyers,” Yun says. “With low inventory already impacting the market, added skyrocketing costs have left many families facing the realities of being priced out entirely.”

The 11 metro areas with the highest price increases in the first quarter of this year saw median sales prices ranging from $100,000 to $600,000. Those cities are:

• Kingston, N.Y.: up 35.5% annually; $303,100
• Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.: 34.3%; $580,400
• Atlantic City-Hammonton, N.J.: 34%; $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
• Glens Falls, N.Y.: 27.5%; $214,600

Overall, the priciest markets in the nation, according to NAR’s report, are:

• San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.: $1.5 million, up 11.1% annually
• San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif.: $1.2 million, up 21.8%
• Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, Calif.: $1 million, up 14.3%
• Urban Honolulu, Hawaii: $940,400, up 19.2%
• San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif.: $763,500, up 14%
• Boulder, Colo.: $726,600, up 16.7%
• Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif.: $682,400, up 15.1% 
• Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.: $653,400, up 17.9%
• Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Fla.: $599,500, up 24.9%
• Nassau County-Suffolk County, N.Y.: $598,600, up 22.7%