Home Price Appreciation Slows in 65 Percent of U.S. Housing Markets in July Compared to a Year Ago

IRVINE, CA--(Marketwired - Aug 28, 2014) - RealtyTrac^® (www.realtytrac.com), the nation's leading source for comprehensive housing data, today released its July 2014 U.S Residential & Foreclosure Sales Report, which shows that U.S. residential properties, including single family homes, condominiums and townhomes, sold at an estimated annual pace of 4,634,513 in July, down 3 percent from the previous month and down 12 percent from a year ago -- the third consecutive month where annualized sales volume has decreased on a year-over-year basis.

The median price of U.S. residential properties sold in July -- including both distressed and non-distressed sales -- was $191,000, up 3 percent from the previous month, and up 12 percent from a year ago to the highest level since September 2008, a 70-month high.

"As distressed sales continue to decline, the share of sales is tilting toward more expensive homes, boosting the nationwide median sales price," said Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac. "The nationwide home price increase, however, masks slowing home price appreciation in the majority of housing markets across the country. This slowing appreciation was expected and provides another sign that the real estate recovery thus far is behaving rationally. Still, the housing market is entering a dicey transition phase where it is becoming much more reliant on first-time homebuyers and move-up buyers to sustain the recovery as investor involvement wanes."

Other high-level findings:

• Properties selling in the $200,000-and-below price range accounted for 49 percent of all sales in July, down from 52 percent of all sales a year ago, while properties selling above $200,000 accounted for 51 percent of all sales in July, up from 48 percent of all sales a year ago.
  
  
• States with the biggest annual increase in median sales prices were Michigan (24 percent increase), Ohio (20 percent increase), Virginia (20 percent increase), Minnesota (14 percent increase), and New York (13 percent increase).
  
  
• Metros with the biggest annual increase in median sales price included Detroit (up 33 percent), Dayton, Ohio (up 31 percent), Stockton, Calif., (up 24 percent), Modesto, Calif., (up 22 percent), Cleveland (up 20 percent), and Miami (up 19 percent).
  
  
• Among 183 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of 200,000 or more and with sufficient sales data, 119 (65 percent) saw lower annual home price appreciation in July 2014 compared to July 2013.