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In nearly all of the 183 metros tracked by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), median home prices have increased more than 10% compared to last year. Nationwide, median single-family existing home prices were up 22.9% in the second quarter, reaching $357,900, reports The Wall Street Journal. But NAR’s chief economist says the scorching hot market has cooled to a “warm” status with slower price increases and fewer buyers as housing affordability issues continue, especially for first-time buyers. Regions with the highest price increases for the second quarter were found in the south and west, specifically Austin, Texas and Naples, Fla.
The only metro area to post a decline in the second quarter from a year earlier was Springfield, Ill., where median prices fell 6.9%, NAR said.
Fast-rising home prices are forcing some buyers out of the market and frustrating many more. About 28% of consumers surveyed by Fannie Mae in July said it was a good time to buy a home, a record low in data going back to mid-2010.
Prices are rising so rapidly they are outweighing the benefit of low borrowing rates. In the second quarter, the typical monthly mortgage payment for a single-family home rose to $1,215, from $1,019 a year earlier, the NAR said, even as mortgage rates declined.
An increase in luxury home sales has helped push up median home prices in many markets. In Greenwich, Conn., buyers who expect to continue working from home full-time or part-time are looking for bigger houses with more office space, said Mark Pruner of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties. Greenwich is part of the Bridgeport, Conn., metro area, where prices rose 37.1% in the second quarter from a year earlier, according to NAR.
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