NAR: home prices roughly flat year-over-year in Q4
By Inman News, Thursday, February 10, 2011
Sales of existing single-family homes and condominiums in the fourth quarter of 2010 rose from the third quarter in all but one state, though only one state saw an annual rise compared to fourth-quarter 2009, according to a National Association of Realtors report released today.
Existing-home sales in the U.S. rose 15.4 percent in the fourth quarter from the third quarter, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.8 million. That’s a 19.5 percent drop from fourth-quarter 2009, when the rate was 5.97 million — a homebuyer tax credit-fueled rate NAR called “unsustainable.” In 2010 overall, sales fell 4.8 percent, to an estimated 4.91 million, from 5.16 million in 2009.
The national median existing single-family home price in the fourth quarter of 2010 was essentially flat compared to the fourth quarter of 2009: $170,600.
Median prices in the fourth quarter of 2010 rose in 78 of 152 metropolitan areas across the country compared to the fourth quarter of 2009.
10 metro areas to see highest quarter-over-quarter median price jumps:
| Metropolitan Area | Q4 2009 median price | Q4 2010 median price | % change |
| Elmira, N.Y. | $86,800 | $101,100 | 16.5% |
| Pittsfield, Mass. | $173,100 | $200,500 | 15.8% |
| Binghamton, N.Y. | $117,900 | $136,300 | 15.6% |
| Burlington-South Burlington, Vt. | $236,600 | $270,600 | 14.4% |
| Bloomington-Normal, Ill. | $146,700 | $167,700 | 14.3% |
| Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y. | $110,700 | $126,500 | 14.3% |
| Erie, Pa. | $97,700 | $110,300 | 12.9% |
| Peoria, Ill. | $111,900 | $126,100 | 12.7% |
| Indianapolis, Ind. | $111,500 | $124,300 | 11.5% |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis. | $188,400 | $210,100 | 11.5% |
Source: NAR