California Top 8 of 10 Most Expensive U.S. Housing Market

Home prices continued to climb across the United States in the first quarter of the year, with 8 of the 10 most expensive metro areas located in California, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released on May 8.

The report confirms that California remains home to the nation’s most expensive single-family housing markets.

San Jose Leads with Nation’s Highest Home Price

The San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara metro area, anchored by Silicon Valley, recorded the highest median price for single-family homes nationwide at $2.02 million.

Other California metros that ranked among the nation’s top 10 include:

• Anaheim–Santa Ana–Irvine: $1.45 million
• San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward: $1.32 million
• San Diego–Carlsbad: $1.03 million
• Salinas: $954,700
• San Luis Obispo–Paso Robles: $953,400
• Oxnard–Thousand Oaks–Ventura: $931,500
• Los Angeles–Long Beach–Glendale: $862,600

Only two metros outside of California made the top 10:

• Honolulu, Hawaii: $1.15 million
• Naples–Immokalee–Marco Island, Florida: $865,000

Most U.S. Metros See Home Price Growth

Home prices rose in 189 out of 228 metro areas nationwide—about 83% of the markets surveyed by NAR. This means that in more than 8 out of every 10 metro regions, single-family home values increased from the previous quarter.

Metros with the fastest year-over-year price increases included:

• Syracuse, New York: 17.9%
• Montgomery, Alabama: 16.1%
• Youngstown, Ohio: 13.6%

Even in the priciest market, San Jose, home values jumped 9.8% from the previous year.

Additional year-over-year increases in California metros included:

• Santa Ana area: 6.2%
• San Diego: 5.7%
• Los Angeles metro: 4.8%
• Ventura: 2.5%

Supply Shortages Keep Prices Elevated

Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR, said that housing shortages remain a major factor in keeping prices high.

“Markets with expensive homes have experienced chronic housing inventory shortages for years,” he said. “Asset inequality and low homeownership rates are contributing to elevated price levels.”

BY HOONSIK WOO [woo.hoonsik@koreadaily.com]