The most recent Homes.com Local Market Report for data ending July 2014 is in and there has been some significant changes since the last report. The good news is that there are now a total of 109 U.S. housing markets that have achieved a full price recovery since the end of the recession. The bad news is that, after analyzing trends for quarter-to-quarter gains compared to the same data period in 2013, it’s clear that the top 100 and top mid-sized markets are no longer seeing the same rate of growth as they were in previous months. In fact, index point gains of 2.5 to 3 percent were reported during July 2013, and we are now only witnessing gains of a mere 0.5% during the same time period in 2014.
From a broader perspective and what seems to be becoming a trend, the highest annual changes were once again located in the Western region of the country with five markets in California, two in Oregon, and one in Washington, Montana, and South Dakota. To give you a better idea of how the nation’s housing market is performing as a whole, here is a more in depth look at what’s going on in the Top 100 and Top mid-sized markets:
Top 100 Markets
For starters, there are now 39 of the top 100 markets that have shown a complete price recovery from the effects of the housing bust, up two from the month before. Those markets are Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC, which saw a rebound of 100.08%, and Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA ,which finished out the month with a 100.03% rebound. Unfortunately, there were only 84 of these markets that increased their 3-month average index point change. Of these markets, New Orleans-Metairie, LA had the largest increase of 0.58%. Henderson-Paradise, NV achieved the highest index point change from a year-over-year standpoint, reeling in a whopping 10.17% increase. Unfortunately, that was the only market to gain over a 10% price increase during this data period.
Top Mid-Sized Markets The top mid-sized metro areas (population rank 101 to 300) also added two markets to their list of complete price recoveries. Up two from last month’s report, there are now 70 of these mid-sized markets that can say the pricing faults from the recession are now a thing of the past. These new markets are Columbus, GA-AL with a 100.09% rebound and Champaign-Urbana, IL, which checked in with a rebound percentage of 100.05%. Only 166 markets saw price increases on a 3-month average, twenty markets less than last month’s data. Rapid City, SD was at the top of this 3-month average list with an increase of 1.55%, serving as the only midsize market to achieve anything greater than 1% increase. On an annual basis, Bend-Redmond, OR took the top spot with a 9.87% increase.
Whether or not this gradual slowdown in market activity will stick around is unclear, but it would be a good idea to keep an eye on the conditions of your local market as we move through the rest of 2014. For more information regarding the latest batch of data, check out all the data from the most recent Homes.com Local Market Reports.
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