Median Home Sales Report Shows Some Huge Drops in Prices

The NAR released its median sales price of existing homes report (that is broken down by metroplitan areas) today, and there were some VERY large drops. As I usually do each quarter, first let's look at 5 of the biggest U.S. cities that I track: (note: prices are vs. last year)

• Chicago: -25.6%
• Los Angeles: -34.1%
• Miami: -35.4%
• New York: -16.0%
• San Francisco: -42.7%

The Top 5 gains were paltry last quarter:

1. Cumberland, MD: +21.1%
2. Davenport, IL: +13.8%
3. Columbia, MO: +6.0%
4. Beaumont, TX: +5.0%
5. Oklahoma City, OK: +4.0%

Okay, now for the Top 5 losers:

1. Ft. Myers, FL: -59.1%
2. Saginaw, MI: -53.7%
3. Akron, OH: -48.0%
4. San Jose, CA: -42.3%
5. Las Vegas, NV: -37.3%

Ouch. Those are some steep losses, to be sure, and basically repeal all of the gains that were experienced from 2003-2007. Overall, the national rate for the U.S. last quarter was -13.8%. This report doesn't offer much comfort that things are improving for housing, but maybe sellers finally threw in the towel and were ready to accept realistic offers. Given that Q1 market the bottom in several other indicators, I would not be surprised if this report market the low for median sales prices also.