On Tuesday, National Association of Realtors announced that for the second quarter of this year, housing prices in 163 out of 176 metro areas went up despite of possible affordability and availability problems.
The median for a single family home rose to $229,400 for the second quarter, higher of 8.2% than last year's second quarter. Real estate agents say that there has been a hot spring selling season due to dwindling home supply, trigger- happy buyers who are wants to get a home loan before the mortgage rises and return of house auction in some cities. However, NAR reported that some market didn't have the same positive result on the first quarter. 34 metro areas have revealed their annual price gain is double- digit for the second quarter. Housing prices in smaller areas are being greatly affected by different homes listed up for sale but it doesn't effectively shows the health of their real estate market.
Home prices in cities located on a stretch leading up to east coast in Florida between Port St. Lucie and Titusville, Raleigh and Greensboro, N.C. rose with 20% compared to last year's prices. However, Cumberland, Md., the metro including Stamford, Conn., and Kingston, N.Y., showed decrease in housing prices.
Californian real estate in the cities remained to be the most expensive with a median sales of $980,000. Also, NAR reported that for the second quarter, there is an average supply of houses which is 51 months, down from 5.5 months last 2014.
Low supply of homes being put into market is due to homeowners who owe more than the original worth of the home. Also, houses offered at a higher price causes difficulty for entry- level buyers while home construction are still below its average rate in the 2000s.
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