Real Estate

Home prices drop for fourth straight quarter

But the latest home prices from Realtors show losses seem to be easing.

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The price of a typical home in the United States continues to drop but at a slower pace, according to a new survey.

During the second quarter, the median single-family home price was $223,800, 1.5 percent less than a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). It was the fourth consecutive quarter of price declines. Condo prices rose 1 percent to a median of $226,800.

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Prices are off 1.7 percent from their peak of $227,600, recorded during the third quarter of 2005. The biggest year-over-year decline on record of 2.7 percent came in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Despite the continued drop, NAR's senior economist, Lawrence Yun called the results, "encouraging." 97 of the 149 metro areas surveyed recorded year-over-year price increases.

"Although home prices are relatively flat, more metro areas are showing price gains with general improvement since bottoming-out in the fourth quarter of 2006," he said. "Recent mortgage disruptions will hold back sales temporarily, but the fundamental momentum clearly suggests stabilizing price trends in many local markets."

Looking ahead, Yun's forecast is one of the most optimistic among economists. He predicts home prices will turn slightly positive again by spring of 2008 and rise about 2 percent that year. He said prices will pick up more in 2009.

The number of home sales dropped a lot more than prices. The pace of single-family house and condo sales came to 5.91 million units annualized. That was down 10.8 percent compared with the second quarter of 2006 when sales were at a 6.63 million annual rate.

NAR's results were widely expected, coming during a time when most housing market indicators have pointed to negative territory.

Home sales have fallen in many markets, inventories have stretched to a nearly eight-month supply, and new-home builders have been reporting big losses.

Mortgage rates rose from about 6.17 percent at the beginning of April to about 6.67 percent by the end of June for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage. The mortgage meltdown, spurred by problems with subprime loans, has led to a liquidity squeeze - many potential buyers can no longer qualify for a loan.

An increase in delinquencies among mortgage borrowers has also resulted in big spikes in foreclosure filings around the nation, unleashing a flood of vacant houses on the market.

Among individual metro areas, prices plunged furthest in Elmira, N.Y., down 17.9 percent to $71,700. Other big losers included Palm Bay, Fla. (down 15 percent to $183,300), Davenport, Iowa (down 11.3 percent to $103,300) and Sarasota, Fla. (down 11.3 percent to $311,400).

Pockets of strength included Salt Lake City, where prices rose 21.9 percent, the most of any metro area, to $233,100. In the Pacific Northwest, Salem, Ore. prices rose 16.7 percent to $227,900, and Spokane, Wash. prices went up 10.4 percent to $197,700.

Several small cities just outside the giant shadow of New York City enjoyed outsized price increases.

Reading, Penn. recorded an 11.2 percent increase to $157,800, and in nearby Allentown, prices jumped 12.8 percent to $274,500. Binghamton, N.Y. homes soared 19.8 percent to $111,200, and Glens Falls, N.Y. prices ramped up 10.7 percent to $175,700.

The New York metro area itself recorded a much more modest increase of 1.7 percent to $482,300.

The most expensive metro area was San Jose, California, where the median single-family house sold for $865,000. The bottom of the list was Elmira, with its $71,700 median.

Strong condo markets were again led by Salt Lake City, up 25.2 percent to $162,200, and included Texas cities Austin (up 14.9 percent to $171,100) and Dallas (up 12.2 percent to $133,200).

Syracuse, N.Y. recorded the largest condo losses of 13.9 percent to $123,000.

Three of the four U.S. regions experienced lower single-family home prices with the lone exception, the Northeast recording a 0.7 percent rise to $298,000.

The Midwest saw the largest regional downturn, 2.2 percent to $163,500. The West has the highest median prices, $349,400, up 0.4 percent. The South's median home is $185,000 and fell 1.6 percent. Top of page

Latest housing prices from the National Association of realtors for 149 metro area markets
Metropolitan Area Median home price % Change
Akron, OH $125,300 1.5%
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY $191,600 -0.7%
Albuquerque, NM $199,600 7.7%
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ $274,500 12.8%
Amarillo, TX $115,000 -3.0%
Anaheim-Santa Ana, CA (Orange Co.) $727,000 0.1%
Appleton, WI $131,900 0.0%
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA $175,500 0.9%
Austin-Round Rock, TX $186,600 5.6%
Baltimore-Towson, MD $293,700 3.0%
Barnstable Town, MA $384,600 -5.4%
Baton Rouge, LA $174,700 1.4%
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX $127,700 11.8%
Binghamton, NY $111,200 19.8%
Birmingham-Hoover, AL $164,900 -2.8%
Bismarck, ND $151,400 9.2%
Bloomington-Normal, IL $161,500 7.0%
Boise City-Nampa, ID $212,800 2.6%
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH** $413,300 -1.9%
Boulder, CO $383,700 2.3%
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT $515,300 3.8%
Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY $103,300 6.7%
Canton-Massillon, OH $114,600 0.2%
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL $266,200 -2.0%
Champaign-Urbana, IL $144,900 1.0%
Charleston-North Charleston, SC $223,200 4.4%
Charleston, WV $127,600 3.7%
Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC $207,300 8.3%
Chattanooga, TN-GA $135,300 -4.9%
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL $283,200 1.7%
Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN $146,200 -1.9%
Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH $128,700 -7.1%
Colordo Springs, CO $221,300 1.4%
Columbia, SC $148,300 2.2%
Columbus, OH $153,900 -1.2%
Corpus Christi, TX $136,000 -1.8%
Cumberland, MD-WV $109,300 9.3%
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX $156,500 1.7%
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL $103,300 -11.3%
Dayton, OH $120,300 -0.2%
Decatur, IL $88,900 4.2%
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL $193,200 -8.3%
Denver-Aurora, CO $255,200 0.0%
Des Moines, IA $147,700 -0.1%
Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI $144,600 -7.1%
Dover, DE $209,800 0.3%
Durham, NC $180,100 1.2%
Elmira, NY $71,700 -17.9%
El Paso, TX $132,300 4.4%
Erie, PA $99,900 -2.3%
Eugene-Springfield, OR $240,900 5.8%
Fargo, ND-MN $139,000 1.3%
Farmington, NM $201,900 14.0%
Ft. Wayne, IN $101,600 0.8%
Gainesville, FL $216,200 1.0%
Gary-Hammond, IN $137,800 7.3%
Glens Falls, NY $175,700 10.7%
Grand Rapids, MI $132,300 -3.0%
Green Bay, WI $153,100 0.3%
Greensboro-High Point, NC $156,300 3.8%
Greenville, SC $152,500 0.2%
Gulfport-Biloxi, MS $154,200 6.6%
Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV $218,700 -4.7%
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT $242,700 -5.4%
Honolulu, HI $665,000 3.9%
Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, TX $154,900 1.4%
Indianapolis, IN $125,300 2.4%
Jackson, MS $145,100 -2.8%
Jacksonville, FL $198,700 0.4%
Kankakee-Bradley, IL $140,400 4.1%
Kansas City, MO-KS $157,700 -0.7%
Kennewick-Richland-Pasco, WA $167,700 6.7%
Kingston, NY $264,900 6.6%
Knoxville, TN $160,200 4.8%
Lansing-E.Lansing, MI $133,900 -5.4%
Las Vegas-Paradise, NV $307,900 -3.6%
Lexington-Fayette,KY $148,300 -1.1%
Lincoln, NE $138,000 -0.5%
Little Rock-N. Little Rock, AR $132,600 3.4%
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA $593,000 2.9%
Louisville, KY-IN $139,300 0.9%
Madison, WI $223,500 0.9%
Memphis, TN-MS-AR $144,300 -0.9%
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL $384,400 2.0%
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI $229,300 0.7%
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI $227,100 -2.5%
Mobile, AL $140,400 1.6%
Montgomery, AL $150,100 -0.4%
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro, TN $186,400 4.8%
New Haven-Milford, CT $296,500 1.3%
New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA $166,000 -6.7%
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA $482,300 1.7%
New York-Wayne-White Plains, NY-NJ $557,500 6.3%
NY: Edison, NJ $385,100 -0.1%
NY: Nassau-Suffolk, NY $479,800 0.2%
NY: Newark-Union, NJ-PA $416,000 -6.4%
Norwich-New London, CT $276,600 1.3%
Ocala, FL $170,900 0.8%
Oklahoma City, OK $129,300 3.1%
Omaha, NE-IA $136,800 -4.3%
Orlando, FL $265,100 -2.4%
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL $183,300 -15.0%
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL $168,700 -0.2%
Peoria, IL $120,300 4.2%
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD $243,000 3.4%
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ $264,800 -2.7%
Pittsburgh, PA $123,500 2.7%
Pittsfield, MA $230,900 8.0%
Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, ME $244,900 0.9%
Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA $298,300 5.2%
Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA $291,000 -0.1%
Raleigh-Cary, NC $225,100 8.4%
Reading, PA $157,800 11.2%
Reno-Sparks, NV $331,900 -6.2%
Richmond, VA $236,800 4.2%
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA $396,800 -0.3%
Rochester, NY $117,200 1.6%
Rockford, IL $122,200 5.4%
Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville, CA $356,500 -6.3%
Saint Louis, MO-IL $157,200 2.7%
Salem, OR $227,900 16.7%
Salt Lake City, UT $233,100 21.9%
San Antonio, TX $154,300 6.6%
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA $614,100 0.2%
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA $846,800 7.6%
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA $865,000 8.8%
Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, FL $311,400 -11.3%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA $395,300 8.9%
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA $137,100 0.7%
Sioux Falls, SD $142,300 1.4%
South Bend-Mishawaka, IN $93,600 -7.0%
Spartanburg, SC $133,200 0.7%
Spokane, WA $197,700 10.4%
Springfield, IL $111,200 -0.8%
Springfield, MA $216,800 1.3%
Springfield, MO $123,700 1.3%
Syracuse, NY $122,600 5.0%
Tallahassee, FL $180,900 3.5%
Tampa-St.Petersburg-Clearwater, FL $222,700 -3.8%
Toledo, OH $109,800 -5.2%
Topeka, KS $111,700 6.3%
Trenton-Ewing, NJ $313,900 8.1%
Tucson, AZ $250,100 1.1%
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC $250,800 5.7%
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV $445,300 0.3%
Waterloo/Cedar Falls, IA $113,500 4.9%
Wichita, KS $110,700 -0.7%
Worcester, MA $278,900 -2.4%
Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA $76,700 -2.5%
U.S. $223,800 -1.5%
Northeast $298,000 0.7%
Midwest $163,500 -2.2%
South $185,000 -1.6%
West $349,400 -0.4%
Metropolitan Area Median home price % Change
Albuquerque, NM $151,100 6.2%
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA $149,900 2.3%
Austin-Round Rock, TX $172,100 14.9%
Baltimore-Towson, MD $237,900 1.5%
Bismarck, ND $122,900 11.7%
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH $316,400 3.8%
Boulder, CO $217,100 -3.5%
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT $283.000 11.1%
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL $232,400 4.1%
Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN $126,800 -2.5%
Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH $132,900 2.5%
Colorado Springs, CO $149,900 1.0%
Columbus, OH $133.000 -5.1%
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX $133,200 12.2%
Greensboro-High Point, NC $116,400 5.9%
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT $176,300 5.9%
Honolulu, HI $328.000 7.5%
Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, TX $128,700 6.6%
Indianapolis, IN $121,600 0.7%
Knoxville, TN $143,700 3.4%
Las Vegas-Paradise, NV $195,300 -4.3%
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA $413,400 0.7%
Louisville, KY-IN $126,400 4.8%
Madison, WI $169.000 1.6%
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL $367.000 0.0%
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI $171,400 1.5%
New Haven-Milford, CT $194,300 8.9%
New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA $159,300 -15.3%
New York-Wayne-White Plains, NY-NJ $323,400 -6.5%
NY: Newark-Union, NJ-PA $318,300 -0.8%
NY:Edison, NJ $292,700 -1.6%
NY:Nassau-Suffolk, NY $262,400 3.8%
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD $205,500 5.6%
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ $192,300 1.4%
Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, ME $192,500 -5.9%
Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA $208,900 8.9%
Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA $217,400 0.3%
Reno-Sparks, NV $220,500 17.0%
Richmond, VA $190,700 8.7%
Rochester, NY $118,900 7.6%
Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville, CA $220,300 -6.4%
Salt Lake City, UT $162,200 25.2%
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA $368,600 -1.4%
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA $608,700 -5.9%
Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, FL $315,900 -3.5%
Springfield, MA $158,900 -2.2%
Syracuse, NY $123.000 -13.9%
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL $169.000 -3.2%
Toledo, OH $145,800 11.4%
Trenton-Ewing, NJ $268,500 2.6%
Tucson, AZ $153,800 -10.2%
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC $179,700 4.1%
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV $298,400 0.6%
Wichita, KS $117,900 5.4%
Worcester, MA $211,200 8.4%
U.S. $226,800 1.0%
Northeast $263,300 3.0%
Midwest $196,400 3.4%
South $177,900 -1.9%
West $266,700 -2.3%


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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.