According to the latest quarterly report from the National Association of Realtors, the national median existing single-family home price in the first quarter was $245,500, which is up 5.7% from the first quarter of 2017 ($232,200).
Single-family home prices last quarter increased in 91% of measured markets, with 162 out of 178 MSAs showing sales price gains in the first quarter compared to a year ago. Fifty-three metro areas (30%) experienced double-digit increases, up from 15% in the fourth quarter of 2017.
“The worsening inventory crunch through the first three months of the year inflicted even more upward pressure on home prices in a majority of markets,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Following the same trend over the last couple of years, a strengthening job market and income gains are not being met by meaningful sales gains because of unrelenting supply and affordability headwinds.”
Total existing-home sales, including single family and condos, decreased 1.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.51 million in the first quarter, from 5.59 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, and are 1.7% lower than the 5.6 million pace during the first quarter of 2017.
At the end of the first quarter, there were 1.67 million existing homes available for sale, which was 7.2% below the 1.8 million homes for sale at the end of the first quarter in 2017. The average supply during the first quarter was 3.5 months – down from 3.7 months in the first quarter of last year.
The five most expensive housing markets in the first quarter were San Jose, where the median existing single-family price was $1,373,000; San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, $917,000; Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, $810,000; urban Honolulu, $775,500; and San Diego-Carlsbad, $610,000.
The five lowest-cost metro areas in the first quarter were Decatur, Ill., $73,000; Cumberland, Md., $86,200; Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio, $91,300; Elmira, N.Y., $100,800; and Binghamton, N.Y.; $103,000.
Total existing-home sales in the Northeast slipped 8.5% in the first quarter and are 8.1% below the first quarter of 2017. The median existing single-family home price in the Northeast was $267,400 in the first quarter, up 4.6% from a year ago.
In the Midwest, existing-home sales fell 6.9% in the first quarter and are 1.8% below a year ago. The median existing single-family home price in the Midwest grew 5.9% to $187,100 in the first quarter from the same quarter a year ago.
Existing-home sales in the South increased 3.7% in the first quarter and are 0.7% higher than the first quarter of 2017. The median existing single-family home price in the South was $220,400 in the first quarter, 5.5% above a year earlier.
In the West, existing-home sales in the first quarter declined 1.1% and are 2.2% below a year ago. The median existing single-family home price in the West increased 8.2% to $371,300 in the first quarter from the first quarter of 2017.
Photo: Lawrence Yun
