The median price of an existing-single family home in 81 percent, or 145 out of 179 homes in the metropolitan statistical area (MSA), has shown an increase in the third quarter of 2015 in a year-over-year basis, while the remaining 34 areas have recorded a lower median home price compared from the year earlier.
"Even with slightly cooling demand, the unshakeable trend of inadequate supply in relation to the overall pool of prospective buyers inflicted an upward pressure on home prices in several metro areas," said Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist of the National Association of Realtors. "As a result, homeownership continues to be out of reach for a number of qualified buyers in the top, job producing but costliest, parts of the country - especially on the West Coast and parts of the South."
According to the press release of NAR in PR NewsWire, the national median price of an existing single family home in the fourth quarter of 2015 has increased by 6.9 percent, compared to the fourth quarter of 2014, from $208,400 to $222,700. Thirty metro areas have seen a double-digit increase in the median home price in the fourth quarter of 2015, while only twenty-two metro areas experienced a double-digit increase in the fourth quarter of 2014.
The report on the Median Sales Price of Existing Single-Family Homes for Metropolitan Areas by NAR shows that San Jose, San Francisco, Honolulu, Anaheim-Santa Ana and San Diego, are the five most expensive housing markets in the fourth quarter of 2015, with $940,000, $781,600, $716,600, $708,700, and $546,800 respectively.
On the other hand, Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio; Cumberland, Md.; Rockford, Ill.; Decatur, Ill.; and Wichita Falls, Texas are considered to be the five lowest-cost metro areas in the fourth quarter, with $81,200; $86,100; $87,600; $90,000; and $101,900 respectively.
There are 1.79 million existing homes available for sale in the fourth quarter of 2015, which is lower compared to the 1.86 million homes for sale at the end of the fourth quarter in 2014. In the fourth quarter of 2015, the average supply of the existing homes inventory was 4.6 months, decreased from 4.9 months a year ago.
