The median price of a single-family home in Seattle jumped 12.9% year-over-year in September, according to the most recent S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index. The West Coast city’s big price gains are more than double the national, annual increase of 6.2%. Nationally, median home prices were also up 0.4% from August as well.
(The report looked only at existing, detached, single-family homes and not newly constructed residences.)
Seattle’s boom is a result of its thriving economy and bounty of good-paying jobs, many in the tech industry. The median home price in the city is $650,000, according to realtor.com® data. That’s more than double the national median of just under $275,000.
The West is powering the price gains, and it’s not just Seattle. Las Vegas; Denver; Portland, OR; San Francisco; and San Diego all posted annual increases of 7% or more, as a result of their strong economies and limited numbers of homes on the market. Price gains in Boston; Dallas; and Tampa, FL, also exceeded the 7% threshold.
Prices are rising at a cooler pace in the Midwest and East. New York; Atlanta; Washington, DC; Miami; and Chicago all had price gains of less than 6% annually.
As prices have risen, home values nationwide have mostly recovered from the real estate bust that began a decade ago.
Prices nationwide are likely to keep rising, says realtor.com’s Chief Economist Danielle Hale. Low mortgage rates (still hovering around 4%) and a strong job market are expected to spur more people to search for homes. And millennials are at the age where they’re finally settling down and buying homes.
