Time for my quarterly update of the housing situation in the United States, using the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) database for existing home prices.
This go ‘round we look at the first quarter of the year. Spring is here so activity picks up (normally), as should prices, with the latter up 8.0% in March vs. a year ago, while sales rose just 0.8% year-on-year to 5.27 million in March, according to the NAR. The following is the national median home price on existing single-family homes.
2020
Jan. ….$266,200
Feb. ….$270,400
Mar. …$280,600 (preliminary)
2019
Jan. ….$251,200
Feb. ….$252,000
Mar. …$259,700
2018
Jan. ….$240,800
Feb. ….$240,900
Mar. …$251,500
2017
Jan. ….$227,300
Feb. ….$228,200
Mar. …$236,600
2016
Jan. ….$213,700
Feb. ….$212,100
Mar. …$221,400
2015
Jan. ….$197,600
Feb. ….$201,900
Mar. …$210,700
2014
Jan. ….$187,900
Feb. ….$188,300
Mar. …$196,700
2013
Jan. ….$170,600
Feb. ….$173,200
Mar. …$184,000
2012
Jan. ….$154,600
Feb. ….$155,600
Mar. …$164,800
2011
Jan. ….$157,900
Feb. ….$156,100
Mar. …$159,800
2010
Jan. ….$164,900
Feb. ….$164,600
Mar. …$169,500
2009
Jan. ….$164,700
Feb. ….$168,200
Mar. …$170,000
Using the NAR’s data, the median average for a full year was as follows.
2004…$185,200
2005…$219,600
2006…$221,900*
2007…$219,000
2008…$198,100
2009…$172,500
2010…$172,900
2011…$166,100
2012….$176,800
2013….$197,100
2014….$208,300
2015….$222,400
2016….$235,500
2017….$247,200
2018….$259,300
2019…$271,900
*Existing home prices peaked in July 2006 at $230,200, according to the NAR. You can play around with the numbers but generally you’re talking a ‘formal’ decline of 30%, peak to trough, nationally, before the big rebound. Today we are up to $285,400 (this past June).
But now we await the next few months of data…anxiously.
Source: realtor.org
Wall Street History will return in a few weeks.
Brian Trumbore
