Contrary to the expectations of many, the housing market didn’t slow, flatten or plunge in the second quarter.
Instead, house prices registered the biggest price leap in 26 years, says a report released Thursday by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. House prices rose 13.43% nationally between the end of the second quarter of 2004 to the same time this year. Many observers had been predicting that the housing market was inflated to the point of either bursting or at least politely deflating. Some highlights of the OFHEO report:
Nevada continues to have the highest appreciation of all states; house prices increased 28.1% over the past year and 5.5% for the quarter. However, for the first time in nearly two years, Las Vegas is not on the list of the 20 fastest-growing MSAs.Find a loan that's
right for you at the
Loan Center
Arizona house prices grew 9.7% during the quarter, far surpassing every other state.
Thirty of the 265 ranked metro areas had four-quarter appreciation exceeding 25%.
“I was surprised,” said Susan M. Wachter, a real estate expert at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. “This was a possible outcome, (however) I have been and many of us have been looking for an easing of the price rises.”
Certainly the report didn’t rule out a housing market adjustment -- it showed only that it hadn’t happened as of the end of June. As Wachter says, “It may very well be that prices are easing while we speaking.”
 |
| Real Estate Consulting and Marketing |
For more local information please click: Colorado Homes
