Home prices are on the rise again after declining for the second half of 2023, with 93% of all major metro areas posting gains so far in 2024, a National Association of Realtors report reveals.
Roughly one-third of the 223 major metro markets NAR examined had a double-digit price increase in the first three months of 2024.
The surge in prices is largely due to pent-up demand for homes, says Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. "In the current market, rising prices are the direct result of insufficient housing supply not meeting the full demand," Yun says.
Prices for existing single-family homes in the U.S. are up 5% year over year as of April, after decreasing by 2.86% year over year as of April 2023. The median home price is now $389,400, according to NAR's sales data.
The remarkable turnaround in 2024 has also been boosted by 30-year fixed mortgage rates dipping down closer to 6.6% after hitting a 7.79% peak in November 2023.
Here are the 10 metro areas where home prices have increased the most so far in 2024.
1. Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
- Home price gain: 23.7%
- Median sale price: $232,200
2. Kankakee, Illinois
- Home price gain: 22%
- Median sale price: $193,100
3. Rockford, Illinois
- Home price gain: 20.1%
- Median sale price: $179,800
4. Champaign-Urbana, Illinois
- Home price gain: 20%
- Median sale price: $188,600
5. Johnson City, Tennessee
- Home price gain: 19.3%
- Median sale price: $302,900
6. Racine, Wisconsin
- Home price gain: 19%
- Median sale price: $274,100
7. Newark, New Jersey-Pennsylvania
- Home price gain: 18.8%
- Median sale price: $610,100
8. Bloomington, Illinois
- Home price gain: 18.5%
- Median sale price: $233,300
9. New York-Jersey City-White Plains, New York-New Jersey
- Home price gain: 18.4%
- Median sale price: $663,100
10. Cumberland, Maryland-West Virginia
- Home price gain: 18.2%
- Median sale price: $141,800
Most of the metro areas with the highest price gains are smaller cities with relatively affordable homes compared to nearby major cities.
Despite the 23% price surge in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin—the highest of all metro areas examined—median home prices are still only $232,2000, much cheaper than the median price of $354,000 in nearby Milwaukee, which is just over an hour's drive away.
Located on the Lake Winnebago shore, Fond du Lac is a popular second-home market that has become increasingly popular with remote workers.
Similarly, many Illinois cities offer lower-priced homes and more space compared to the nearby Chicago metro area. Home prices in these metro areas are around $200,000, well below the national median of $389,400.
Rockford was hit hard by the mortgage crisis in 2008, but has since bounced back, with a direct train line to Chicago slated to be built within a few years.
The greater New York area also ranks high with a 18.4% gain in home prices, largely due to ever-present demand and a shortage of homes in the area.
Overall, the northeast region saw a resurgence in single-family home prices, which increased 11% in the first quarter of 2024, the highest of all regions in the country.
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