Home Price Increases Soar per RealtyTrac Data

RealtyTrac came in with the highest report of year-over-yearrnprice increases we have seen thus far this year with their estimate of a 15rnpercent gain in November 2014 compared to one year earlier.  The company said that the median price of arnsingle family home and/or condo sold in the U.S. during the month was $190,000,rnunchanged from October but markedly higher than annual estimates from otherrnsources.  While all were reporting on Octoberrndata, annual increases estimated by the National Association of Realtors,rnCoreLogic, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and the three S&P Dow JonesrnCase-Shiller indices all ranged between 4.5 to 6.1 percent.  </p

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RealtyTrac estimated the median price of distressedrnproperties, those either in the process of foreclosure or in bank-ownedrninventories (REO) at $128,625, the highest price since December 2009 but stillrn35 percent below the median price of non-distress properties at $199,000.  RealtyTrac put the annual increase forrndistressed properties at 18 percent while non-distressed properties gained 14rnpercent.  </p

“As the price of distressed propertiesrnreaches a new high the pool of investor activity that has been fueling thernhousing recovery may dry up,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president atrnRealtyTrac. “However, 20 states still saw annual decreases in distressedrnproperty prices so we will continue to see a fragmented recovery as investorsrnmove from once hot markets such as Phoenix, Atlanta and many California marketsrnand into markets such as Charlotte, Columbus, Ohio, Dallas and Oklahoma City.</p

“Thankfully, the increase in first timernhomebuyers in November (31 percent according to NAR) helped push home prices uprnslightly with home appreciation on average 6 percent among all metro areas withrna population of 500,000 or more,” Blomquist added. “We saw strong pricernappreciation in Rust Belt cities like Detroit, Cleveland and Chicago contrastedrnwith single-digit price appreciation in many coastal California markets,rnPhoenix, Las Vegas, and the District of Columbia.”</p

According to the company’s numbers thernmedian price of all homes has recovered by about 35 percent from the trough thatrnprices reached in March 2012 of $141,000. rnPrices however are still well below the August 2006 peak of $237,537.     </p

The share of homes priced over $200,000</btook market share away from homes in the lower price range in November.  The biggest increase was in the percentage ofrnhomes in the one half to one million dollar range which increased by 20 percentrnwhile sales of homes priced over $1 million were up 15 percent.  </p