Seven of the nation’s most expensive real estate markets are now located in the West, a list that includes booming Boulder, Colorado.
According to a new survey released by the National Association of Realtors, property in some areas of the country is now at a record-breaking level, although home sales slumped in the second quarter of this year
The ten most expensive markets nationally had home prices ranging from $722,000 to $1.9 million, with Boulder near the middle of that list at $933,000.
Five of the most expensive markets were located in various metro areas of California, with prices running the gamut from $825,000 to $1.9 million. The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area came in at just under $819,000.
Overall, according to the NAR survey, the national median single-family home price from April to June of this year stood at $413,500. That’s the first time in the association’s record keeping that that figure surpassed the $400,000 mark.
Meanwhile, a majority of the markets studied in the survey saw also double-digit increases over the first quarter of this year.
In a statement, Lawrence Yun, chief economist with the NAR, said, “Home prices have increased at a pace that far exceeds wage gains, especially for low- and middle-income workers.”
Even so, Yun predicted that recent decreases in mortgage rates should have the effect of bringing “additional buyers to market, especially in those places where home prices are still relatively affordable and where jobs are being added.”
Regionally, the South saw an 18.2% increase in single family home sales this spring and early summer, followed by the West at 12.7%; the Northeast at 10.1%, and the Midwest, which has been lagging in recent surveys, at 9.7%.
By Garry Boulard
