Overwhelming majority of US metro areas saw home prices increase in t…

New data shows that over 90% of U.S. metro areas saw home prices increase in the first quarter of 2024, the National Association of Realtors said in a quarterly report released on Wednesday. The group said the single-family existing-home sale prices increased in 93% of metro areas across the country in a measure of 205 out of 221 metro areas.

Home prices for the same types of existing single-family homes increased by 5% from a year ago. The median price for an existing single-family home is now at $389,400, NAR said. A typical monthly mortgage payment on an existing single-family home with a 20% down payment jumped by 9.3% from a year ago to $2,037.

The NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun called the price increases astonishing as they come during record-high mortgage rates not seen in two decades. Ten of the areas NAR looked at were at the top of the list with the largest year-over-year median price increases, including: Fond du Lac, Wisconsin (23.7%); Kankakee, Illinois (22.0%);…