Home prices post record gains Phoenix led the way in the second quarter. Dozens of markets show double-digit growth. September 20, 2005: 3:57 PM EDT
By Les Christie, CNN/Money staff writer
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Single-home price growth over the 12 months ending June 30 was the strongest in history, according to the National Association of Realtors.
In its quarterly survey, NAR found that U.S. home prices rose at an annual rate of 13.6 percent, to a median price of $208,300.
David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, called the increases unprecedented. "When you look at appreciation of home prices relative to the overall rate of inflation, these are the strongest increases on record," he said.
The Phoenix market, up 47 percent since the second quarter of 2004, led all metro areas. The median home price there is $243,400.
Right behind Phoenix came several south Florida metro areas, including Cape Coral/Fort Myers, with growth of 45.2 percent.
Seven metro areas posted price declines; the most severe was in the Kalamazoo/Portage area of Michigan, where home prices have declined 3.7 percent, to $122,600.
The lowest priced market was Danville, Illinois. There, the average home is $73,400. Though that's up 16.9 percent from the second quarter a year ago.
The West beat all other regions, averaging an annual gain of 19.5 percent, to $312,600. The South had the slowest growth, just 5.7 percent to $179,400. The Midwest climbed 12.1 percent to $167,800 and the median home in the East is up to $243,100, 13.1 percent higher than a year ago.
149 markets tracked. See which areas had the fastest growth in the second quarter and which have the highest priced homes. See the table here.