Low Property Supply Sends July Prices Soaring

A July monthly property intelligence report (PIR) conducted by ""DataQuick"":http://dataquick.com/, a provider of real estate information solutions, reveals a monthly and annual rise in home prices for every single participating U.S. county out of the 42 evaluated.

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In fact, home prices have hiked an average of over 13 percent versus this time last year. Per DataQuick's data, this rise in price has been directly linked to fewer foreclosures, limited property availability, and an overall decline in total amount of July property transactions.

More specifically, 25 out of the 42 counties saw rises in home price tags well over the ten percent mark, with the counties represented running the gamut from mere one percent increases (Suffolk County, N.Y.), to peaking upwards of more than 30 percent (Sacramento County, Calif.).

Such sudden and sharp spikes in home prices, paired alongside low sales volumes, could sound the alarm when it comes to a red alert regarding an overall housing market recovery. Gordon Crawford, Ph.D., vice president of analytics for DataQuick, agrees, stating that, ""We are seeing a direct correlation between home price appreciation and sales growth, as markets with the largest decrease in overall sales are those experiencing the most rapid increase in home prices.""

Crawford continues by asserting that, ""While economic drivers including job growth and low interest rates are contributing to increases in demand nationwide, prices in markets with tight supplies of available properties are skyrocketing. The main concern in this situation is that it is unclear if strong home price increases would be happening in the presence of more normal sales volumes.""

Other July findings include positive quarterly price growth in 41 of the 42 reported counties, sales spikes in 29 of the 42 (over the last month) and 37 of the 42 (over the last quarter), and 28 of the 42 (over the last year). Fewer foreclosures (26 of 42 over the last quarter; 28 of 42 over the last year) were also reported.