Thirty-five Percent of U.S. Home Markets at All-Time Price Peaks in 2015

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Thirty-five Percent of U.S. Home Markets at All-Time Price Peaks in 2015

Irvine, CA, December 3, 2015—Among 94 major metro areas analyzed for RealtyTrac's October 2015 U.S. Home Sales Report, 33 markets (35%) have now reached new all-time home price peaks in 2015. 

The report also shows that the median sales price of U.S. single-family homes and condos in October was $207,500, up 1% from the previous month and up 10% from a year ago, the highest year-over-year percentage increase since February 2014.

The 10% increase in October 2015 came following 20 consecutive months of single-digit annual increases in median home sales prices and marked the 44th consecutive month with a year-over-year increase in median home prices. Despite nearly four years of increases, the U.S. median sales price in October was still 9% below the previous peak of $228,000 in July 2005.

“Home price appreciation did not go into hibernation in October even as the housing market entered the typically slower fall season,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “More than one-third of the nation’s major housing markets have now reached new home price peaks this year, and nearly 90% of markets posted an annual increase in home prices in October. Home sellers are sitting pretty in this market, realizing an average profit-since-purchase of 16%— the highest in any month since December 2007, on the cusp of the Great Recession.”

Metro areas that have reached new home price peaks in 2015 include Detroit, which hit a new peak in October with a median sales price of $155,000. Other metros that reached a new price peak in 2015 include Dallas, Texas; Houston, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; St. Louis, Missouri; Denver, Colorado; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Charlotte, North Carolina; Portland, Oregon; San Antonio, Texas; and Columbus, Ohio.

There were a total of 2,815,704 single family homes and condos sold in the first ten months of 2015, according to public record sales deeds collected by RealtyTrac. That was a nine-year high for the first ten months of the year and a 6% jump from the same time period in 2014, when there were a total of 2,667,436 single family and condos sold in the first ten months of the year.