The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) recently released data showing that nearly every metro area it tracks—99%—posted year-over-year price increases in the first quarter of 2021.
The 11 metro areas with the highest price increases were:
– Kingston, N.Y. (35.5%; $303,100)
– Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn. (34.3%; $580,400)
– Atlantic City-Hammonton, N.J. (34.0%; $277,200)
– Barnstable Town, Mass. (33.1%; $567,600)
– Boise City-Nampa, Idaho (32.8%; $422,600)
– Sherman-Denison, Texas (29.8%; $234,800)
– Elmira, N.Y. (29.1%; $126,900)
– Austin-Round Rock, Texas (28.2%; $437,900)
– Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa. (27.7%; $119,500)
– Decatur, Ill. (27.5%; $102,400)
– Glens Falls, N.Y. (27.5%; $214,600)
“Significant price increases throughout the country simply illustrate strong demand and record-low housing supply,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “The record-high home prices are happening across nearly all markets, big and small, even in those metros that have long been considered off-the-radar in prior years for many home seekers.”
According to NAR, the majority of metros saw strong price increases, with 89% (163 metro areas out of 183) registering double-digit price growth. In the first quarter of 2020, 25% of metro areas (46 out of 181) saw such growth—at this time, housing inventory was at a healthier level of 3.3 months, which better matched the pace of monthly demand.
“The sudden price appreciation is impacting affordability, especially among first-time homebuyers,” said Yun. “With low inventory already impacting the market, added skyrocketing costs have left many families facing the reality of being priced out entirely.”
The most expensive markets also experienced double-digit price growth:
– San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. ($1.5 million; 11.1%)
– San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif. ($1.2 million; 21.8%)
– Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, Calif. ($1.0 million; 14.3%)
– Urban Honolulu, Hawaii ($940,400; 19.2%)
– San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif. ($763,500; 14.0%)
– Boulder, Colo.($726,600; 16.7%)
– Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. ($682,400; 15.1%)
– Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash. ($653,400; 17.9%)
– Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Fla. ($599,500; 24.9%)
– Nassau County-Suffolk County, N.Y. ($598,600; 22.7%).
The median existing-home sales price increased 16.2% YoY to $319,200—a record high since 1989. All regions saw double-digit YoY price growth, with the Northeast seeing a 22.1% increase, followed by the West (18.0%), South (15.0%) and Midwest (14.4%).
“These higher home prices underscore the importance of stepping up housing supply,” said Yun. “An increase of inventory—either by new construction or by converting abandoned and unused retails or hotels—would combat the affordability problem.”
For more information, please visit www.nar.realtor.
