SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Existing local home prices down 6.5 percent
Aug 11, 2011, 9:46 AM | Updated: Mar 4, 2016, 5:59 am
The median existing single-family home price rose in 40 out of 150 metropolitan statistical areas in the second quarter from the same period in 2010, including four with double-digit increases, according to the latest quarterly report by the National Association of Realtors.
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue was down 6.5 percent.
“Median home prices have been moving up and down in a relatively narrow range in many markets, which shows a stabilization trend,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.
Yun noted the median price measurement reflects the types of homes that are selling during the quarter and can be misleading at times.
“The level of foreclosures, which can artificially depress median prices, can vary notably in given markets. The annual price gauge smoothes out the quarterly swings and has shown fairly stable price trends in most markets.”
NAR’s Housing Affordability Index stood at 176.6 in the second quarter, the third highest on record after the first quarter of 2011 and fourth quarter of 2010. The index measures the relationship between median home price, median family income, and mortgage interest rates; the higher the index, the greater household purchasing power. Recordkeeping began in 1970.
The national median existing single-family home price was $171,900 in the second quarter, down 2.8 percent from $176,800 in the second quarter of 2010. The median is where half sold for more and half sold for less.
Distressed homes, typically sold at a discount of about 20 percent, accounted for 33 percent of second-quarter sales, down from 39 percent in the first quarter; they were 32 percent a year earlier.
The share of all-cash home purchases was 30 percent in the second quarter, up from 25 percent in the second quarter of 2010. Investors, who make up the bulk of cash purchasers, accounted for 19 percent of second quarter transactions, up from 14 percent a year ago.
First-time buyers purchased 35 percent of homes, down from 46 percent in the second quarter of 2010. Repeat buyers accounted for a 56 percent market share in the second quarter, up from 40 percent a year earlier.
The median existing single-family home price in the West region declined 3.1 percent to $218,000 in the second quarter from the second quarter of 2010. Existing-home sales in the West dropped 10.8 percent in the second quarter to a level of 1.16 million and are 6.2 percent below a year ago.
