ATTOM: U.S. Median Home Prices Hit New Peak in Q2
ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., said U.S. single-family homes and condos sold for a median price of $266,000 in the second quarter, up 10.8 percent from the previous quarter and up 6.4 percent from a year ago to a new median home price peak.
The company’s quarterly U.S. Home Sales Report also reported housing tenure also hit a new high; homeowners who sold in the second quarter had owned an average of 8.09 years, up 3 percent from the first quarter and up 4 percent from a year ago. By contrast, homeownership tenure averaged 4.21 years nationwide between Q1 2000 and Q3 2007, prior to the Great Recession.
The report also said U.S. homeowners who sold in the second quarter realized an average home price gain since purchase of $67,500, up from an average gain of $57,706 in the first quarter and up from an average gain of $60,100 a year ago. The average home seller gain of $67,500 represented an average 33.9 percent return as a percentage of original purchase price.
Among 149 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed in the report, those with the highest average home seller returns in the second quarter were San Jose (85.0 percent); San Francisco (71.6 percent); Seattle (65.6 percent); Salem, Ore. (62.3 percent); and Salt Lake City (60.7 percent).
“As warmer weather brings a rush of house hunters to the market, the latest spike in median home prices marked the largest quarterly increase since the second quarter of 2015 and the third biggest increase since the market started climbing out of the Great Recession in 2012,” said Todd Teta, chief product officer with ATTOM Data Solutions. “However, in looking at historical trends, the second quarter of every year has always shown a quarterly increase, going as far back as 2005. So, with mortgage rates dipping to new lows, it’s no surprise that people were wanting to buy a home, even if prices were at their peak. We expect to see milder home prices in the coming quarters.”
Other report findings:
–Median home prices in 133 of the 149 metro areas analyzed in the report (89 percent) saw an annual home price appreciation in the second quarter, led by Atlantic City, New Jersey (16.0 percent); Boise City, Idaho (14.0 percent); Chattanooga, Tenn. (13.9 percent increase); Mobile, Ala. (11.2 percent increase); and Madison, Wis. (10.8 percent increase).
–Median home prices in 110 of the 149 metro areas (74 percent) were above pre-recession peaks in the second quarter, led by Greeley, Colo. (87 percent); Shreveport, La. (81 percent); Denver (80 percent); Austin, Texas (77 percent); and Fort Collins, Colo. (76 percent).
–All-cash sales represented 25.0 percent of all single family and condo sales in the second quarter, down from 27.7 percent in the previous quarter and down from 26.9 percent a year ago.
–The share of U.S. single family home and condo sales sold to institutional investors fell to 2.2 percent in the second quarter, up from 1.9 percent in the previous quarter but down from 2.4 percent a year ago.
–Sales to FHA buyers represented 11.6 percent of all U.S. single family and condo sales in the second quarter, up from 11.1 percent of all sales in the previous quarter and up from 9.9 percent a year ago.
–Total distressed sales–bank-owned sales, third-party foreclosure auction sales and short sales–accounted for 11.4 percent of all single family and condo sales in the second quarter, down from 14.0 percent in the previous quarter and up less than one percent from the same time last year.
