- Nationwide median price for condos increased 4.8 percent annually to $227,200 in the second quarter.
- Median price for condos in the San Francisco-Oakland metro increased 12.1 percent since the second quarter of 2015, to $725,900.
- Median price for condos decreased 10.6 percent year-over-year in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale.
Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York City | DW labs Incorporated / Shutterstock.com
The National Association of Realtors’ Metropolitan Median Area Prices and Affordability Report shows affordability becoming less prevalent compared to last year. Only 16 percent (29 out of 178) of metro statistical areas had a lower median price in the second quarter of 2016 than last year, NAR says.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a press that because homebuilding activity has waned and there’s less new inventory, prices have grown beyond income growth in some areas.
“Steadily improving local job markets and mortgage rates teetering close to all-time lows brought buyers out in force in many large and middle-tier cities,” he said.
The median price for a condo in America increased 4.8 percent since the second quarter of 2015, accoridng to the report, reaching $227,200 — up $10,500 from 2015.
As demand increased while new supply decreased, over 40 percent of homes sold in the second quarter sold at or above list price. The month of June saw the highest share since NAR began tracking the data in 2012.
“Many listings in a majority of markets – and especially those in lower price ranges – had multiple offers and went under contract quickly because of severely inadequate supply,” Yun said. “This in turn dented affordability, and without a doubt, priced out a segment of buyers attempting to seek relief from fast-growing rents.”
Median prices for condos in markets
The median price for condos in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson increased 7.5 percent annually to $207,700, accoridng to NAR’s data. The first quarter of 2016 was the lowest median price experienced in the metro since before 2013.
Condos in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro had a median price of $197,900. This year-over-year increase of 3.9 percent since the second quarter of 2016 is dwarfed by a roughly 25 percent increase since 2013.
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land condos’ median price increased 4.8 percent since the second quarter of 2015. At the start of 2016’s third quarter, median condo prices in the metro were $160,100.
Although California had four out of the five highest median prices for single-family homes in the country, median price for condos decreased 10.6 percent year-over-year in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale. At $435,700, median price dropped $50,000 over the year in the L.A. metro.
With Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach’s condo market showing no signs of stoppage, median prices in the second quarter were $168,500. Condo prices have increased $40,000 since 2013, NAR says, and leveled off around $155,000 through 2015.
Little changed occurred in New York-Jersey City-White Plains’ median prices for condos. With a slight increase of 1.3 percent since the second quarter of 2015, median prices sat at $260,700 in the metro.
Similar to the single-family housing market in San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, the median price for condos was a startling $725,900 in the second quarter. This is also a 12.1 percent increase since the second quarter of 2015. Since 2013, the median price of condos in the metro increased almost $250,000.
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria’s condo prices shifted downward by 1 percent year-over-year. Since 2013, median price for condos in the D.C. metro shifted from $272,200 to the current $281,100.
