Appraisals

South Florida home prices increased 6% in March compared to a year ago, but the biggest gains nationwide are happening in the Pacific Northwest.

As Seattle tops the country for home price growth for the seventh straight month, the local real estate market has gotten so competitive that it's now nearly impossible to avoid a bidding war.

Homes in Sacramento have been selling in an average of 34 days — six days faster than they were at this time last year, and 28 days faster than the U.S. overall.

A larger-than-forecast increase in home prices in 20 U.S. cities in March underscores both steady demand and lean inventory, according to S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller.

Real estate site Zillow is launching a $1 million competition among data scientists to improve its "Zestimate" home valuations, but said the crowdsourcing initiative is unrelated to recent lawsuits filed in Chicago against the company.

Rising prices are holding back some potential sellers from listing their properties because they fear they won't find an affordable replacement, according to First American Financial Corp.

The median price reported to the Realtors Association of New Mexico for the month of April was $192,000, which is nearly 4% higher than the March 2017 median and more than 6% higher than the April 2016 median.

Home values increased by 7.3% in April, the strongest rate of year-over-year appreciation in more than 10 years, according to Zillow.

Here's a look at the top cities where out-of-town house hunters are looking to buy. Mortgage lenders can capitalize on these trends with targeted marketing and specialized customer service to cater to these consumers.

The San Diego County median home price hit $525,000 in April, passing the region's previous peak reached in 2005.