The Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk metro area led the nation in U.S. home price increases in the fourth quarter, up by 39%, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The NAR said that, due in part to the lowest mortgage rates in history, the median price of a single-family home rose 14.9% to $315,000 in the fourth quarter ”“ the largest increase such the since 1990 and the fastest since 2005.
Every metro area tracked by the association saw home prices grow from a year ago, according to its latest quarterly report. 88%, or 161, of the metros saw double-digit price increases, compared with 115 in the third quarter. The Northeast led the charge at 20.7%, followed by the West at 15.5%, the Midwest at 15.1% and the South at 14%.
“The fourth quarter of 2020 presented circumstances ripe for home price increases,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR”™s chief economist. “Mortgage rates reached record lows, thereby driving up the demand. At the same time, inventory levels also reached record lows, leading to grim inventory conditions of insufficient supply in the fourth quarter.”
Yun cautioned that the large shifts in home prices could become detrimental to homebuyers. “The average working family is struggling to contend with home prices that are rising much faster than income,” he said. “This sidelines a consumer from becoming an actual buyer, causing them to miss out on accumulating wealth from homeownership.”
