Home prices in a majority of metropolitan areas grew in the third quarter, but slowly. All major regions saw increases at or below 5 percent year-over-year, according to the National Association of Realtors' quarterly report.
The median single-family home price increased in 125 out of 172 (73 percent) of measured markets since the third quarter of 2013. Forty-seven areas (27 percent) recorded lower median prices than a year ago.
While the number of rising markets was "mostly unchanged" from the second quarter to the third, the size of increases dropped sharply. While 16 areas in the third quarter had double-digit increases, more than 50 areas saw double-digit jumps in the second quarter, according to an NAR statement.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, looked at that trend favorably.
“Home-price gains returned to more normalized levels of low- to mid-single digit rate of appreciation in many metro markets as inventory levels steadily increased,” he said in a statement.
The national median existing single-family home price in the third quarter was $217,300, up 4.9 percent year over year.
Total existing-home sales increased 5.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.12 million in the third quarter, up from 4.87 million in the second quarter. Still, the number of sales was 3.8 percent below the 5.32 million pace set in the third quarter of 2013.
"Given the improving labor market and historically low interest rates, more buyers are anticipated to enter the market next year," Yun said.
