The data also shows a slight improvement in housing affordability, down slightly from 89% in the last quarter.
The May 8 report shows a rise in home prices at 83% in the Metro region, down slightly from 89% in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Home prices saw double-digit gains at 11% in the Metro area, down from 14% in the last quarter. The median national selling prices for existing homes rose 3.4% from last year to $402,300.
“Most metro markets continue to set new record highs in home prices,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in the report. “In the first quarter, the Northeast performed best in both sales and price increases.”
Home prices in the area rose 10.3%.
The South registered its largest share of existing home sales at 44.9% in the first quarter, with a price rise of 1.3% year-on-year. Prices rose 5.2% in the Midwest and 4.1% in the West.
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New York’s Syracuse rose 17.9% in the top 10 markets. It is the state’s fifth most populous city, with the Syracuse metropolitan area (over 650,000 people) being the main urban centre in central New York.
David Manzano, president of the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors, told the Epoch Times that he was not surprised by the discovery of the NAR.
“Before Covid, I think Syracuse was very affordable and underrated,” he said. “You can buy a decent single-family home for under $100,000.”
Like many countries during the Covid-19 pandemic, Syracuse has seen its inventory drop significantly as people from New York and elsewhere move to the Metro area, taking advantage of record mortgage interest rates.
“We’ve become an influx of buyers. We’ve started to see inventory rise over the years, but we’ve been well below average with just 1.6 months of supply,” Manzano said.
The area is popular with numerous former residents who have returned from Florida due to weather concerns, as well as inventors who buy homes for rental.
A new job seeker is expected again this year as Micron Technology plans to begin construction of a massive chipmaking complex in the town of Clay in November. Located just north of Syracuse, the complex will consist of two manufacturing plants to begin and two additional plants over the next 20 years.
The complex also requires thousands of construction workers to build the plants, and thousands of skilled employees once the plants are finished. “The project will be one of the largest microchip manufacturing facilities in the state,” Manzano said.
Following Syracuse, Montgomery rose 16.1%, with sales growth in Ohio’s Greater Youngstown Metro area at 13.6%.
Median home prices at the end of the first quarter were listed at $230,000 in Montgomery and $161,900 in Youngstown. Long Island, New York, took fourth place with a 12% increase in home prices and a median of $779,300. Toledo, Ohio, was fifth, with the price rising 11.1% with a median price of $183,900.
The top 10 locations completed in the rise in home prices are Cleveland, Ohio – Lililia and Rochester, New York, both with price increases of 11.1%. Gulfport Biloxi Pascagoura, Mississippi, 10.5%. Trenton, New Jersey, 10.4%. Allentown Bethlehem Easton, Pennsylvania, region is 10.2%.
Naturally, eight of the most expensive US markets are in California, with home prices escalating 9.8% to a new median of $2.02 million in the San Jose Sunnyvale Santa Clara Metro region. The median price in the Anaheim Santa Ana – Ilvein region rose 6.2% to $1.45 million, while the San Francisco Oakland Hayward region experienced a 1.5% price increase to a median of $132 million.
Other California locations where home prices are rising include San Diego Carlsbad, Salinas, San Luis Obis Popaso Robles, Oxnard Sound Oaks Ventura and Los Angeles Long Beach Glendale.
Honolulu, Hawaii, Naples, Florida – Imokally – Marco Island concluded the 10 most expensive US metro markets.
“The very expensive home prices partly reflect the underproduction of multi-year homes in these metro markets,” Yun said. “Another factor is lower homeownership rates in these areas, meaning a more unequal wealth distribution. Affordable markets tend to have a better supply and higher homeownership rates.”
Conversely, 38 (17%) of the 228 metro areas showed a decline in home prices in the first quarter. These areas included Austin, Texas and San Antonio. Huntsville, Alabama. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Raleigh, North Carolina. Several markets in Florida.
The NAR report also states that housing affordability has improved slightly in the first quarter. The national average monthly payment for existing detached homes with a 20% down payment was $2,120. Families typically spend around 24.4% of their income on mortgage payments, down from 24.8% in the last quarter.
To pay a 10% down payment mortgage at 45.1% of the market, you need at least $100,000 in family income.
