Are Asking Prices Leveling Off?

Daily Real Estate News | Thursday, January 17, 2013

The national median list price in December was $187,900 — basically the same it was one year ago, and a sign that year-over-year asking prices may be leveling off, according to new housing data from Realtor.com. 
In June 2012, median list prices rose to $195,000. 
“While list prices increased significantly during the first half of the year, they have declined in recent months, with the median list price in December now roughly the same as it was one year ago,” according to Realtor.com. “In addition, a growing number of housing markets — primarily in older industrialized areas — are registering year-over-year list price declines. These potentially off-setting trends and suggest that house price appreciation in the upcoming year is likely to be more moderate than it was in 2012.”
Metros posting some of the largest year-over-year declines in median asking prices were: 

1. Peoria-Pekin, Ill.: -14.29 percent
2. Reading, Pa: -7.84 percent
3. Charleston, W.Va.: -7.78 percent
4. Fort Wayne, Ind.: -7 percent
5. Jersey City, N.J.: -6.68 percent
6. Philadelphia, Pa.-N.J.: -6.36 percent

Still, some markets are outperforming year-over-year and continuing to see big rises in asking prices. For example, California markets continue to see some of the largest year-over-year increases in median list prices, according to Realtor.com. Many of the markets seeing the largest rises to the median list prices also are seeing big inventory declines — sometimes by 40 percent or more year-over-year. 
The 10 metros posting the largest increases to list prices year-over-year, according to Realtor.com, are:

1. Sacramento, Calif.: +42.57 percent
2. Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc, Calif.: +35.72 percent
3. San Francisco: +25.04 percent
4. San Jose, Calif.: +23.53 percent
5. Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz.: 21.21 percent
6. Atlanta: +19.93 percent
7. Oakland, Calif.: +17.22 percent
8. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Calif.: 16.66 percent
9. Fresno, Calif.: +16.28 percent
10. Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.: +15.65 percent

It is great improvement in Bay Area's housing market!!

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