Inman News

17 July 2015

Of the top 30 metropolitan statistical areas, 28 posted modest to strong home price gains in May when compared to April.

According to the FNC Residential Price Index, Sacramento, California, witnessed a 3.5 percent increase in May — the largest month-to-month increase of any metro.

Midwest metros that have seen a recent decline in foreclosure sales represented the other top performers in May. Cleveland saw a month-to-month increase of 3.1 percent, followed by Detroit (2.8 percent), Cincinnati (2.6 percent) and Chicago (2.3 percent).

While these month-to-month rises in values are a positive for these markets, one month of appreciation doesn’t tell the whole story.

Year over year, prices have risen by only 4 percent in Cleveland. Detroit has seen hardly any price growth, 0.1 percent, during the period.

Chicago, Cincinnati and Sacramento appear to be in better situations — having seen values increase by 6 percent, 7.5 percent and 7.6 percent, respectively, during the past 12 months.

When it comes to annual price appreciation, Dallas leads the nation, according to FNC. The firm cites the metro’s strong labor market and relatively affordable housing as reasons for home prices escalating by 15.2 percent.

Other top-performing markets on an annual basis included:

• Las Vegas (14.5 percent increase)
• Orlando (12.6 percent)
• Los Angeles (10.7 percent)
• Miami (9.6 percent)
• Atlanta (9.5 percent)
• Riverside, California (9.4 percent)
• San Diego (9.2 percent)
• Charlotte (8.1 percent)

New York and Washington, D.C., represented the only two metros to witness an annual decline in home values.

Prices in New York dipped by 0.1 percent, while D.C. saw prices drop by 1.1 percent.

Other weak-performing markets included Baltimore (0.5 percent increase), Detroit (0.1 percent) and St. Louis (2.1 percent).

On a national scale, prices climbed 1.2 percent from April to May.

“While the participation of first-time homebuyers has reportedly reached record highs, rising demand from potential trade-up buyers has also contributed importantly to the price growth in many markets,” said Bob Dorsey, FNC’s chief data and analytics officer.

FNC’s preliminary June estimates show a continued drop in the asking price discount nationwide, meaning sellers are taking smaller cuts of their asking prices. The firm cites that buyers in San Francisco are bidding up prices to pay an average of 4.8 percent above the listing price.