NAR: Resale Prices Up in All Metro Areas

For the first time since the reporting began in 1982, the median prices of existing homes increased (on a year-over-year basis) in every metropolitan area for which data were available in the second quarter, according to the National Association of Realtors.The association's metro area home price report found that 40 of the 126 areas surveyed recorded double-digit annual increases in median resale prices. "Normally, even in very strong sales markets, there are about a half-dozen metros somewhere in the country that, for one reason or another, have a temporary price decline," said NAR chief economist David Lereah. "Not only is every market positive, but also a record number of metropolitan areas are experiencing double-digit price gains." The top rates of year-over-year increases in median resale prices were in Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif., up 23.5% to $212,600; Providence, R.I., up 23.2% to $228,900; and Los Angeles-Long Beach, up 20.6% to $337,200. The NAR can be found online at http://realtor.org.