Price Appreciation Slows to Single Digits

Realty Trac Staff  |   October 27, 2014

The double-digit price gains of last year have mostly faded, but that doesn't mean prices aren't still rising. Fifty-nine percent of U.S. metros posted single-digit annual home-price appreciation in September.

Housing Roller Coaster

Median home prices are getting a boost by a lower share of distressed sales and fewer low-end purchases during the third quarter, according to RealtyTrac's latest 2014 Residential and Foreclosure Sales Report.  The share of homes selling above $200,000 rose 7 percent from year-ago levels, while the share of homes selling above $500,000 is up 15 percent, according to RealtyTrac Vice President Daren Blomquist.

"Some of the biggest increases in median prices are in markets in the Midwest, Southeast, and Inland California, where home prices are still considered a relative bargain for both investors and owner-occupant buyers," Blomquist says. "Meanwhile, many of the fastest-appreciating real estate markets last year have now settled into a more sustainable pattern of single-digit appreciation."

For example, Los Angeles has seen single-digit appreciation for the last four consecutive months, with the latest report showing prices up 9 percent annually. San Diego and Portland, Ore., also have been reporting single-digit price growth for at least the past four months, at about 7 percent.

On the other hand, some markets are still seeing big growth year-over-year. The metros with the largest annual increases in median home prices in September were:

Source: Realty Trac