(The Epoch Times)—Existing single-family home prices continued to rise in 189 out of 228 U.S. metro areas in the first quarter, with some areas reporting double-digit gains, according to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
The May 8 report shows home price gains in 83 percent of metro areas, a slight decline from 89 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Home prices saw double-digit increases in 11 percent of metro areas, down from 14 percent in the previous quarter. The national median sales price of existing homes rose 3.4 percent from this time last year, to $402,300.
“Most metro markets continue to set new record highs for home prices,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun in the report. “In the first quarter, the Northeast performed best in both sales and price gains by percentage.”
Home prices in the region rose 10.3 percent.
The South registered the largest share of existing home sales at 44.9 percent in the first quarter, with a year-over-year price appreciation of 1.3 percent. Prices increased by 5.2 percent in the Midwest and 4.1 percent in the West.
Syracuse, New York, placed first in price upticks among the top 10 markets, soaring by 17.9 percent. It is the fifth most populous city in the state, and the Syracuse metro area—home to over 650,000 people—is the major urban center of central New York state.
David Manzano, Sr., president of the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors, told The Epoch Times he was not surprised by NAR’s findings.
“Before COVID, Syracuse was extremely affordable and I think, undervalued,” he said. “You could buy a decent single-family home for under $100,000.”
Like much of the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic, Syracuse experienced a significant drop in inventory as people from downstate New York and other areas moved into the metro area, taking advantage of record-low mortgage interest rates.
“We ended up with an influx of buyers, and while over the years inventory started to increase, we’re still well below the average at just 1.6 months of supply,” Manzano said.
The area has been popular with inventors purchasing homes for rentals, in addition to a large number of former residents moving back from Florida, due to concerns about the weather.
An influx of new job seekers is also expected this year as Micron Technology plans to begin construction of a massive chipmaking complex in the town of Clay in November. Located just north of Syracuse, the complex will consist of two fabrication plants to start, and possibly two additional plants over the next 20 years.
The complex would also require thousands of construction workers to build the plants, and possibly thousands of tech-savvy employees once the plants are completed. “This project will be one of the largest microchip manufacturing facilities in the state,” Manzano said.
NAR listed the Syracuse metro area’s median single-family home price at $234,300 at the end of the first quarter. Manzano indicated that as of the end of April, the median has risen to $240,000—still considered a “bargain” for someone relocating from the New York City metro area.
Following Syracuse was Montgomery, with a 16.1 percent increase, and the greater Youngstown, Ohio, metro area experienced a sales growth of 13.6 percent.
Median home prices at the end of the first quarter were listed at $230,000 in Montgomery and $161,900 in Youngstown. Long Island, New York, held fourth place with a 12 percent home price hike and median price of $779,300. Toledo, Ohio, was fifth with prices rising by 11.1 percent and a median price of $183,900.
Completing the top 10 locations with home price increases were Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio, and Rochester, New York, both with 11.1 percent price increases; Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Mississippi, at 10.5 percent; Trenton, New Jersey, at 10.4 percent; and the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pennsylvania, region at 10.2 percent.
Not surprisingly, eight of the top 10 most expensive U.S. markets were in California, with the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro region seeing home prices escalate by 9.8 percent to a new median of $2.02 million. Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine region’s median price grew by 6.2 percent to $1.45 million, while the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward region experienced price gains of 1.5 percent, to a median of $1.32 million.
Other California locations with home price gains included San Diego-Carlsbad, Salinas, San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale.
Honolulu, Hawaii, and Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Florida, rounded out the 10 most expensive U.S. metro markets.
“Very expensive home prices partly reflect multiple years of home underproduction in those metro markets,” Yun said. “Another factor is the low homeownership rates in these areas, implying more unequal wealth distribution. Affordable markets tend to have more adequate supply and higher homeownership rates.”
On the flip side, 38 of the 228 metro areas, or 17 percent, showed home price declines in the first quarter. These areas included Austin and San Antonio, Texas; Huntsville, Alabama; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina; and several markets in Florida.
The NAR report also stated that housing affordability improved slightly during the first quarter. The national average monthly payment on an existing single-family home with a 20 percent down payment was $2,120. Families typically spend about 24.4 percent of their income on mortgage payments, which is down from 24.8 percent in the prior quarter.
A family income of at least $100,000 is needed to afford a 10 percent down payment mortgage in 45.1 percent of markets.
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