RIS Media

27 March 2014

Homes.com, a leading online real estate destination and a division of Dominion Enterprises, has released its January Local Market Index, a price performance summary of repeat sales of U.S. properties. Utilizing home pricing data, the Index shows year-over-year gains for single-family properties in all 300 top U.S. markets.

Traditionally a slower sales month, January home values for all 300 markets tracked gains from 2013 and opened 2014 with higher year-over-year prices. The number of top 100 markets achieving a full recovery remained the same as in December—29 markets. However, three markets—Salt Lake City, UT, Madison, WI, and Chattanooga, TN—posted significant gains in January and are close to full recovery. This month, out of the 92 markets that achieved a complete rebound of 100 percent or more, 63 are midsize, an increase of three achieving recovery, compared to last month’s report.

All of the 200 midsize local markets continued to show gains year over year for the single-family index. For the eighth consecutive month, Anchorage, Alaska and Hilo, Hawaii continue to be the two top-performing markets on a year-over-year basis. Anchorage remains in the top spot, increasing by 16 percent, followed by Hilo with a more than 13 percent increase. The West continues to dominate the midsize markets on a year-over-year basis, with nine of the top 10 markets increasing on an annual basis. 165 midsize markets saw month-over-month increases, down two from last month’s report. Midland, TX was the top gaining metro month over month, with a 3.98 index point increase. Markets with strong energy-based economies continue to dominate the midsize markets, with the top 10 of those markets coming from only two states – Louisiana and Texas.

The latest Homes.com Local Market Index reports the following:
· Year-over-year increases in all top 300 markets.
· Monthly increases in 83 of the top 100 markets and in 165 of the 200 midsize markets.
· Los Angeles, California is the top gaining market on a year-over-year basis, with a 26.21 index point or 15.75 percent increase.
· San Diego bested Honolulu, Hawaii as the second highest gaining market with a 24.77 point or 15.75 percent increase
· Honolulu, Hawaii is now the third highest gaining market on a year-over-year basis, with a 24.63 index point gain.
· California markets [San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif.; Bakersfield-Delano, Calif.] are the remaining two in the top five. Year-over-year, they increased 23.82 and 19.58 index points, respectively, for the top 100.

Highlights from the Homes.com Rebound Report for the top 300 markets show:
· 92 markets have made a 100 percent rebound, indicating a complete recovery. This is an increase from 89 markets in the previous reporting period.
· The most recently fully recovered midsize markets are: Bloomington-Normal, IL (105.01 percent), Appleton, WI (101.13 percent) and Warner Robins, GA (100.71 percent).
· Significant gains toward a full recovery were made in Salt Lake City, UT (99.69 percent), Madison, WI (97.54 percent) and Chattanooga, TN (97.22 percent) as they near 100 percent recovery.
· The percentage of recovered midsize markets is slightly ahead of the top 100 markets. Of the 92 markets achieving more than 100 percent rebound this month, 63 (31.5 percent) are midsize and 29 (29 percent) are top 100.
· The South continues to dominate recovery, with 15 markets seeing rebound percentages greater than 100 percent. The South also saw three new markets enter the 75–100 percent recovered range.

“All 300 markets tracked by Homes.com’s housing market reports consolidated their gains from 2013, opening 2014 with higher year-over-year prices. January is typically slower for the housing market, so it is reassuring to see continued steady improvement across the country,” says Brock MacLean, executive vice president of Homes.com. “January’s data shows that 83 of the top 100 markets increased on a monthly basis, with 165 of the 300 midsize markets posting gains year over year. With three midsize markets entering recovery and three more local markets nearing full rebound, 2014 should see continued positive recovery nationwide.”

To provide insight into local sector housing trends across the country, Homes.com publishes the Local Market Index for the Top 100 markets and the companion Midsize Markets Report for defined areas ranked from 101-300.

As a complement to the Local Market Index, Homes.com publishes an exclusive Rebound Report, highlighting how the housing recovery process is unfolding across the country. It measures each market’s peak-to-trough decline in index value, which had been attributed to the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble.