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As Prices Rise Nationally, Local Trends Tell Different Story

While national home prices continue to post gains, ""Clear Capital's"":http://www.clearcapital.com/ VP of research and analytics, Alex Villacorta, insists ""granularity in home prices remains key.""

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Regional prices increased across the nation over the three-month period ending in May, according to Clear Capital's most recent home price report, but metro prices were mixed.

""While there's no questioning the validity of the recovery at this point, performances at the local level remained mixed when considering strength, sustainability and relative positions to 2006 prices,"" Villacorta said.

He suggested ""the diversity in price performance at the local level is mainly a function of the severity to which a particular housing market was hit during the housing crash.""

Consistent with this observation, Las Vegas and Phoenix continue to lead the recovery at the metro level.

At a broad regional level, prices increased the most in the West--2.4 percent--and least in the Midwest--0.7 percent. The South and Northeast fell in between with gains of 1.1 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.

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At the metro level, Las Vegas outpaced Phoenix as the metro with the greatest price gain on a yearly basis. Phoenix held this rank from April 2012 until now.

Las Vegas posted a 27 percent price gain over the year, but prices are still 57.1 percent below their peak.

In fact, even at a continued rate of 27 percent, which Villacorta deems unlikely, the Las Vegas market would take four years to match its peak prices reached in 2006.

Phoenix experienced a 25.7 percent increase over the year, and its prices are 45.9 percent below their peak.

Las Vegas also topped the list of top-performing markets for the rolling quarter ending in May with a 4.5 percent gain.

Sacramento, California, ranked No. 2 with a 3.5 percent gain, followed by Chicago with a 3.2 percent gain, Phoenix with a 3 percent gain, and San Jose, California, also with a 3 percent gain.

Cleveland, Ohio, topped the list of lowest-performing markets with a 4.3 percent quarterly decline. The Ohio metro was the only metro under Clear Capital's observation to record a price decline greater than 1 percent over the rolling quarter, according to Clear Capital.

St. Louis, Missouri, and Detroit, Michigan tied for second place with identical 0.7 percent declines.

Birmingham, Alabama, took the No. 4 spot with a 0.4 percent decline, and Raleigh, North Carolina, and Dallas, Texas, followed with 0.1 percent declines.

Looking forward, Villacorta expects the upward trajectory across the nation to ""moderate over the near term,"" which will ""provde a sense of stability that is essential for both consumers and lenders, as it allows for both parties to calibrate to the current housing landscape.""

About Author: Krista Franks Brock

Krista Franks Brock is a professional writer and editor who has covered the mortgage banking and default servicing sectors since 2011. Previously, she served as managing editor of DS News and Southern Distinction, a regional lifestyle publication. Her work has appeared in a variety of print and online publications, including Consumers Digest, Dallas Style and Design, DS News and DSNews.com, MReport and theMReport.com. She holds degrees in journalism and art from the University of Georgia.
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