RealtyTrac’s latest Home Price Appreciation Analysis shows that nationwide, home prices remained flat in February from the month before, although they are up 14 percent from a year earlier.
The February 2015 Home Price Appreciation Analysis showed that home price growth slowed compared with a year earlier in 60 of the 92 metros analyzed with a population of 500,000 or more and sufficient home price data.
The median home price in the U.S. in February was $183,000. The median home price of a distressed home, one in the foreclosure process or bank-owned, rose 13 percent from a year earlier to $127,000. The median price of non-distressed properties was $190,000, a 33 percent increase over distressed property prices.
“While still significant at 33 percent, the average discount buyers are realizing on distressed homes has been shrinking over the past 18 months after hitting a high of 40 percent in September 2013,” RealtyTrac Vice President Daren Blomquist said in a news release. “Inventory of distressed properties is drying up in many markets even while demand for those properties, which typically fall into the target market for both investors and first-time homebuyers, is ramping up. That is in turn resulting in nationwide home prices skewing higher as a smaller share of homes sell at the lower end of the market.”
In terms of sales by price range, higher-end homes showed the most year-over-year growth in February. Sales of homes prices between $200,000 and $300,000 rose 15 percent from a year earlier, those from $300,000 to $400,000 rose 18 percent, and those from $400,000 to $500,000 rose 21 percent.
By contrast, homes priced below $200,000 made up 47 percent of total sales in the month. The largest share, priced between $100,000 and $200,000, fell 4 percent from a year earlier, with those $50,000 to $100,000 down 24 percent.
“2014 was a historical year for the luxury market in the Lake Tahoe area,” said Sue Lowe, senior vice president/corporate broker for Chase International, covering the Lake Tahoe and Reno, Nev. markets. “We expect to see big things happen as the summer buying season begins in 2015.”
Among the nation’s largest metro areas, those with slowing home price appreciation included New York (annual appreciation of 3 percent compared with 6 percent last year), Los Angeles (9 percent compared with 20 percent last year), Chicago (6 percent compared with 16 percent last year), Washington (6 percent compared with 7 percent last year), and Miami (10 percent compared with 20 percent last year).
“Last year, Seattle home prices saw double digit increases, but as we predicted earlier this year, that pace has started to slow,” said OB Jacobi, president of Windermere Real Estate, covering the Seattle market, where annual price appreciation was 6 percent compared with 13 percent a year ago. “We actually see this as a good thing because if home prices were to continue appreciating in the double digits for too long, we could run into the same boom/bust market of years past.”
Rounding out the 10 largest markets with slowing home price appreciation were Atlanta, Boston, San Francisco, Detroit and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.
“After the last flurry of distressed buying in the first half of 2013 we have seen a gradual move to a more normal real estate market – with real buyers and real sellers,” said Mike Pappas, CEO and president of the Keyes Company, covering the South Florida market, where annual home price appreciation was 10 percent compared with 20 percent last year. “This translates to a healthy move toward historic single digit appreciation levels.”
The recovery has helped 17 metro areas (18 percent of total 92) reach new peaks in median home prices in 2014. Among those are Denver ($265,000); San Jose, Calif. ($714,750); Chattanooga, Tenn. ($130,000); Madison, Wis. ($215,900); and Nashville, Tenn. ($175,000).
The appreciation in home prices in February helped many markets that had hit their housing price bottom increase to new heights. Among those are Detroit (up 154 percent); Grand Rapids, Mich. (up 118 percent), San Francisco (up 115 percent); Cape Coral, Fla. (up 102 percent); San Jose, Calif. (up 90 percent); Modesto, Calif. (up 72 percent); and Los Angeles (up 70 percent).
In all, home price appreciation accelerated in 32 of the 92 metro areas nationwide with a population of half a million or more and with sufficient home price data.
Markets with the fastest-accelerating appreciation included Houston (21 percent annual appreciation this year compared with 5 percent annual depreciation last year); Austin, Texas (16 percent appreciation compared with 9 percent last year); Augusta, Ga. (15 percent appreciation compared with 6 percent last year); and Greensboro, N.C.(14 percent appreciation compared with no appreciation last year).