WASHINGTON – Single-family existing-home sales prices rose in 93% of measured metro areas – 205 of 221 – in the first quarter, up from 86% in the prior quarter, according to the National Assn. of Realtors. The national median single-family existing-home price grew 5% from a year ago to $389,400.

Sixty-three markets (30%) experienced double-digit annual price appreciation, up from 15% in the previous quarter.

The monthly mortgage payment on a typical, existing single-family home with a 20% down payment was $2,037, up 9.3% from one year ago. Thirty percent of the 221 tracked metro areas experienced double-digit price gains over the same period, up from 15% in the fourth quarter of 2023. 30-year fixed mortgage rates ranged from 6.60% to 6.94%.

“Astonishingly, greater than 90% of the country’s metro areas experienced home price growth despite facing the highest mortgage rates in two decades,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “In the current market, rising prices are the direct result of insufficient housing supply not meeting the full demand.”

Compared with one year ago, the national median single-family existing-home price climbed 5% to $389,400. In the prior quarter, the year-over-year national median price increased 3.4%.

Among the major U.S. regions, the South registered the largest share of single-family existing-home sales (46%) in the first quarter, with year-over-year price appreciation of 3.3%. Prices also swelled 11% in the Northeast, 7.4% in the Midwest and 7.3% in the West.

The top 10 metro areas with the largest year-over-year median price increases, which can be influenced by the types of homes sold during the quarter, all registered gains of at least 18.2%. Six of the markets were in Illinois and Wisconsin.

Eight of the top 10 most expensive markets in the U.S. were in California:

1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. ($1,840,000; 13.7%)
2. Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, Calif. ($1,365,000; 14.2%)
3. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif. ($1,300,000; 14%)
4. Urban Honolulu, Hawaii ($1,085,800; 5.5%)
5. San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif. ($981,000; 11.5%)
6. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif. ($909,300; 7%)
7. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif. ($908,700; 7.6%)
8. Salinas, Calif. ($899,200; 4.1%)
9. Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Fla. ($850,000; 9.4%)
10. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. ($823,000; 10.2%)

“The expensive markets in the West, where home prices declined last year, are roaring back,” Yun said. “Price dips in that region were viewed as second-chance opportunities by many buyers.”

Seven percent of markets (15 of 221) experienced home price declines in the first quarter, down from 14% in the fourth quarter of 2023.

See also:

• Case goods suppliers point to housing as potential chief issue for 2024
• New home sales climb in March, but it’s because existing homes aren’t selling

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