Ongoing improvements show economic stabilization, with 87 markets reaching full recovery and housing market price gains nearing 2005 records
Homes.com, a leading online real estate destination and a division of Dominion Enterprises, has released its November Local Market Index, a price performance summary of repeat sales of U.S. properties. Utilizing home pricing data, the Index shows year-over-year gains for single-family properties in all 300 top U.S. markets.
To provide insight into local sector housing trends across the country, Homes.com publishes the Local Market Index for the Top 100 markets and the companion Midsize Markets Report for defined areas ranked from 101-300. Month-over-month increases in index values were seen in 235 of the top 300 markets, down from 253 the previous month. This downtrend is likely due to both seasonal trends and the state of recovery for these markets.
As a complement to the Local Market Index, Homes.com publishes an exclusive Rebound Report, highlighting how the housing recovery process is unfolding across the country. It measures each market’s peak-to-trough decline in index value, which had been attributed to the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble.
While the number of top 100 markets achieving a full recovery is up two from the previous month, to 28, there is also noticeable improvement in the number of midsize markets seeing full recovery. This month, 59 of the top 200 midsize markets have fully recovered their loss in home prices due to the housing bubble burst. These advancements bring the total markets that have seen a full recovery to 87 (29%), up one from the previous month’s 86.
All of the 200 midsize local markets measured continued to show gains year-over-year for the single-family index. On a monthly basis, Rocky Mount, N.C. saw the largest gain, with a 3.05 index point jump. For the sixth consecutive month, Anchorage, Alaska and Hilo, Hawaii continue to be the top two performing markets on a year-over-year basis. Anchorage takes the top spot, increasing by nearly 20 percent, followed by Hilo with a more than 15 percent increase. The west continues to dominate the midsize markets, with all 10 of the top 10 markets increasing on an annual basis and with year-over-year index point gains. On a monthly basis, the top 10 midsize markets are largely split between the south and west regions.
“This year will continue to bring good news, with numerous markets providing opportunities for consumers to take advantage of improvements as they consider buying and selling decisions. Markets in the west and heartland area continue to lead the pack, but encouraging signs in the southeast and northeast prove the market continues the steady climb towards recovery,” said Brock MacLean, executive vice president of Homes.com. “With the gains we continue to see in local markets year to date, we should close out 2013 with year over year price gains nearing 2005 levels.”
