From Homescape

While the national housing market has looked like an endless black hole, signs of a recovery can be seen in scattered metro areas across the country. Officials with the National Association of Realtors (NAR) say that a proportionately larger slowdown in home sales from a year ago in high-cost markets is continuing to drag down the aggregate national median price.

According to a report released this week by NAR, the median existing single-family home price in the first quarter of this year was $196,300, down 7.7 percent from the first quarter of 2007, when the median price was $212,600. But Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the numbers don’t tell the whole story.

“These are highly unusual results, because there were very few jumbo loan originations in the latest quarter, so sales are much slower in high-cost areas, and at the same time foreclosures related to subprime mortgages rose,” Yun said in a press release. “Neighborhoods with little subprime exposure are holding on very well, while prices have fallen in neighborhoods with a wide prevalence of subprime loans, because more foreclosed properties are being sold at discounted prices.”

Yun pointed out that homeowners with subprime loans account for less than 10 percent of all homeowners. “Sharp price declines are principally in neighborhoods where subprime lending has been widely prevalent,” he said.

Market turnaround
The typical seller in the first quarter, who purchased their home six years ago, saw a sizable equity gain despite a price drop from a year ago, according to the NAR data. The median increase in value for sellers who purchased their home in the first quarter of 2002 is 23.8 percent, and the median home equity accumulation is $37,700.

NAR officials say the typical home buyer today plans to own their property for 10 years, and with a long-term view, real estate will continue to remain a safe investment.

“Inventories have stabilized and mortgage availability is beginning to improve, so we expect overall prices to go positive during the second half of the year,” said Richard Gaylord, NAR president.

In the first quarter, the largest single-family home price increase was in the Binghamton, NY, where the median price of $109,700, rose 11.8 percent from a year ago. Next was Peoria, IL, at $119,000, up 10.4 percent from the first quarter of 2007, followed by Spartanburg, SC, where the first-quarter median price increased 10.1 percent to $130,300.

Existing home sales
In all states, total existing-home sales, including single-family houses and condominiums, were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.95 million units in the first quarter, down 0.9 percent from the fourth quarter, and are 22.2 percent below a 6.36 million-unit pace in the first quarter of 2007.

In the South, the median existing single-family home price was $164,200 in the first quarter, down 7.5 percent from a year earlier. After Spartanburg, the strongest price increases in the South were three areas in Texas: El Paso at $134,600, up 8.5 percent from a year ago, followed by the Amarillo with an 8.2 percent gain to $122,200 and Beaumont-Port Arthur at $122,900, up 6.1 percent.

The median existing single-family home price in the Midwest declined 7.9 percent to $142,700 in the first quarter from the same period in 2007. After Peoria, the strongest metro price increases in the Midwest were in the Decatur, IL, area, where the median price of $79,400 was 4.2 percent higher than a year ago, and Springfield, IL, at $172,200, also up 4.2 percent. Next was the Wichita, KS, area, at $112,700, up 4.0 percent from the first quarter of 2007.

In the West, the median existing single-family home price was $296,300 in the first quarter, which is 12.3 percent below a year ago. “This is the area hardest hit by the slowdown in jumbo mortgage loan origination, which is just now starting to improve,” Yun noted.

The strongest metro price increase in the West was in the Yakima, WA, at $148,400, up 9.0 percent from a year ago, followed by Farmington, NM, at $190,000, up 6.3 percent, and the Salt Lake City area, at $225,700, up 3.5 percent from the first quarter of 2007.

To see how your local housing market is faring go to Realtor.org.

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