About 65 percent of metro areas tracked by the National Association of Realtors had median resale single-family home-price gains in the second quarter compared to the same quarter last year, though prices dropped 1.5 percent nationwide and the sales rate slid 10.8 percent, according to data released today.
The association reported that total existing-home sales, including single-family homes and condos, fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.91 million units in the second quarter compared with 6.63 million in second-quarter 2006. This rate is based on the projection of a monthly total over a 12-month period, adjusted to account for seasonal variations in sales activity.
The sales rate declined in 41 states in the second quarter compared to the same quarter last year, rose in six states, was unchanged in one state, and complete data was not available for two states.
Twenty states had a double-digit drop in the rate of existing single-family home sales in the second quarter compared to second-quarter 2006, and Florida led the list with a 41.3 percent drop.
Nevada followed with a 37.5 percent sales drop, and sales dropped 23.4 percent in Arizona, 21.5 percent in Tennessee, 21.1 percent in Maryland, 19.8 percent in California, 18 percent in Maine, 16.5 percent in Illinois, 15.3 percent in Virginia and 15 percent in New Mexico.
Wyoming had the highest year-over-year rise in sales rate at 10.8 percent in the second quarter. Iowa followed with a 4.1 percent gain; North Dakota had a 2.9 percent gain; Oklahoma had a 1.5 percent gain; Indiana had a 1.4 percent gain; and Nebraska had a 1 percent gain.
Median existing single-family home prices rose in 97 of 149 reporting metro areas, while declining in 50 metro areas and remaining unchanged in two metro areas. That compares with 83 areas with year-over-year price gains in the first quarter and 68 areas in fourth-quarter 2006.
The national median existing single-family home price was $223,800 in the second quarter, compared with $227,100 in second-quarter 2006.
The median price of existing single-family homes dropped most in the Elmira, N.Y., metro area in the second quarter among all of the metro areas tracked, falling 17.9 percent compared to the same quarter last year. Three metro areas in Florida were among the top-10 for highest year-over-year price declines in the second quarter.
Median prices dropped 15 percent in Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla.; 11.3 percent in both the Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, Fla., and Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa-Ill., metro areas; 8.3 percent in Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Fla.; 7.1 percent in both the Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., and Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio, metro areas; 7 percent in South Bend-Mishawaka, Ind.; and 6.7 percent in New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La.
The median price of existing single-family homes rose 21.9 percent in the Salt Lake City metro area in the second quarter compared to the same quarter last year, which was the highest year-over-year price appreciation among metro areas in the report.
Prices rose 19.8 percent in Binghamton, N.Y.; 16.7 percent in Salem, Ore.; 14 percent in Farmington, N.M.; 12.8 percent in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pa.-N.J.; 1.8 percent in Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas; 11.2 percent in Reading, Pa.; 10.7 percent in Glens Falls, N.Y.; 10.4 percent in Spokane, Wash.; and 9.3 percent in Cumberland, Md.-W.V.
Median second-quarter metro area single-family home prices ranged from a low of $71,700 in Elmira, N.Y., to $865,000 in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif., area. The second most expensive metro area was San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif., at $846,800, followed by Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, Calif., at $727,000.
Among the most affordable markets in the second quarter were the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa., area with a median existing-home price of $76,700, and the Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, Mich., area at $86,900, the association reported.
The Realtor group reported that resale metro-area condominium and cooperative prices rose 1 percent year-over-year in the second quarter, based on reporting for 55 metro areas. The median existing condo price was $226,800 in the second quarter. Thirty-seven metro areas had year-over-year increases in the median condo price in the second quarter.
The strongest condo price gains were in the Salt Lake City area, where the second-quarter price rose 25.2 percent compared to the same quarter last year, followed by Reno-Sparks, Nev., with a 17 percent gain, and Austin-Round Rock, Texas, up 14.9 percent.
Existing condo median prices ranged from a low of $116,400 in Greensboro-High Point, N.C., to a high of $608,700 in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif., area. The second most expensive condo market reported was Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif., at $413,400, followed by the San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif., area at $368,600, the association reported.
Among the most affordable condo markets were Wichita, Kan., at $117,900, and Rochester, N.Y., at $118,900.
Regionally, the rate of existing-home sales in the Northeast fell 6.8 percent year-over-year in the second quarter, while the median existing single-family home price rose 0.7 percent.
In the Midwest, the sales rate dropped 8.4 percent while the median price fell 2.2 percent in the second quarter compared to the same quarter last year. The sales rate dropped 10.7 percent while the median price dropped 1.6 percent in the South. And the sales pace fell 16.9 percent while the median price dropped 0.4 percent in the West.
“An analysis of all available data over the past six years shows almost every market experienced price gains from the second quarter of 2001 to the second quarter of this year,” the association reported.
According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate on a 30-year conventional fixed-rate mortgage was 6.37 percent in the second quarter, up from 6.22 percent in the first quarter. The rate was 6.6 percent in the second quarter of 2006.
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