Washington, D.C., May 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —
Key Highlights
- Single-family existing-home sales prices climbed in 83% of measured metro areas – 189 of 228 – in the first quarter, down from 89% in the prior quarter. The national median single-family existing-home price rose 3.4% from a year ago to $402,300.
- Twenty-six markets (11%) experienced double-digit annual price appreciation (down from 14% in the previous quarter).
- The monthly mortgage payment on a typical, existing single-family home with a 20% down payment was $2,120 – up 4.1% from one year ago.
More than 80% of metro markets (189 out of 228, or 83%) registered home price gains in the first quarter of 2025, as the 30-year fixed mortgage rate ranged from 6.63% to 7.04%, according to the National Association of Realtors®‘ latest quarterly report. Eleven percent of the 228 tracked metro areas recorded double-digit price gains over the same period, down from 14% in the fourth quarter of 2024.
“Most metro markets continue to set new record highs for home prices,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “In the first quarter, the Northeast performed best in both sales and price gains by percentage. Despite the stronger job additions, the South lagged with declining sales and virtually no price appreciation.”
Compared to one year ago, the national median single-family existing-home price grew 3.4% to $402,300. In the prior quarter, the year-over-year national median price increased 4.8%.
Among the major U.S. regions, the South registered the largest share of existing-home sales (44.9%) in the first quarter, with year-over-year price appreciation of 1.3%. Prices also increased 10.3% in the Northeast, 5.2% in the Midwest and 4.1% in the West.[1]
The top 10 large markets (where large markets are defined as the 150 most populous areas) with the biggest year-over-year median price increases by percentage all experienced gains of at least 10%. A total of six markets were in New York and Ohio. Overall, those top 10 large markets were Syracuse, N.Y. (17.9%); Montgomery, Ala. (16.1%); Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa. (13.6%); Nassau County-Suffolk County, N.Y. (12.0%); Toledo, Ohio (11.1%); Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio (11.1%); Rochester, N.Y. (11.1%); Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Miss. (10.5%); Trenton, N.J. (10.4%); and Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pa.-N.J. (10.2%).
Eight of the top 10 most expensive markets in the U.S. were in California. Those markets were San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. ($2,020,000; 9.8%); Anaheim-Santa …