U.S. Home-Price Gains Slow
As Sellers Compete for Buyers
by Rex Nutting
From MarketWatch
August 15, 2006
Fewer cities are experiencing large, double-digit increases in home values, while prices are falling in more cities, according to quarterly data on metro home prices released Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors.
"With more sellers competing for the pool of buyers, the pressure on home prices has evaporated in most metro areas," said David Lereah, chief economist for the real estate industry group.
In the second quarter, 37 metro areas saw double-digit increases in media existing home sales prices from a year earlier, down from 66 cities in double-digits in the first quarter. At the same time, the number of cities showing price declines rose to 26 from 16.Nationally, median prices for existing homes were up 3.7% year-over-year, according to data already released by the group.
The biggest year-over-year gain was in Baton Rouge, La., where prices jumped 27.3% as demand skyrocketed after the hurricanes. The rest of the top 10: Ocala, Fla.; Virginia Beach, Va.; Gainesville, Fla.; Portland, Ore.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; Spokane, Wash.; Beaumont, Texas; and Eugene, Ore.
The biggest year-over-year decline came in Danville, Ill., where prices fell 11.2%. The rest of the top 10: Detroit, Mich.; Davenport, Iowa; Rockport, Ill.; Cleveland, Ohio; Youngstown, Ohio; Green Bay, Wis.; Yakima, Wash.; Bloomington, Ill.; and Toledo, Ohio.
Prices for condos were down 0.3% year-over-year nationally. Fifteen cities had double-digit increases from a year earlier, while 14 had declines. In the condo market, Phoenix, Ariz., had the biggest gains, up 25.3%. Condo prices fell 5.1% in the Atlanta, Ga., metro region. Condo prices were down in once-hot markets like San Diego and Washington.
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