It’s a tale of two halves when it comes to housing prices in the U.S.,according to recent media coverage of this month’s Case Shiller report. Analysis by mortgage analytics firm Black Knight, among others, pointed Tuesday to plunging home prices in markets across the western half of the U.S., contrasting with rising prices in the eastern half.
In the west, San Jose and San Francisco, California home prices were down more than 10% from a year earlier in January, with Seattle prices falling 7.5%. All 12 major housing markets west of Texas included in the report posted year-over-year declines in January, with the trend reversing for the 37 biggest markets east of Denver, excluding Austin, Texas.
In the eastern half of the U.S. Florida and other markets made pricing gains. Orlando home prices were up 9.3%, while Miami prices rose 12%, the top increase among the 50 biggest metro areas. In places like Hartford, Connecticut, and Buffalo, New York., more affordable homes and limited housing supply supported annual price gains of around 8% in January.
Existing-home sales rose in February, snapping a 12-month streak of declines, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) said last week. The median existing-home sale price fell 0.2% in February to $363,000, the first year-over-year decline in 11 years.
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