Home Prices Rose Even More Than Expected in 2012

If you go back a year or so ago, the economy was still chugging along with low employment growth and the public was unsure if the uptick in home prices was going to stick. Those price increases did not just stick. ZipRealty is showing that the median home prices rose more than what has been reported elsewhere.

Before getting too deep into this, we want to include one caveat: ZipRealty is dedicated to real estate offerings, so it is not exactly in its own interest to be negative on the housing market. That being said, they show that home prices rose in 2012 more than fresh reports may have led many to believe.

The ZipRealty Home Price Report is based on transaction and MLS data from 33 major metropolitan areas. Zip shows that median prices rose by 11% in 2012 to $211,312, over the median price of $190,000 listed in 2011. This matters because the most recent report from the National Association of Realtors projected that home prices rose by 6.3% nationwide.

A recent report from Zillow showed that house prices rose only by 5.9% in 2012, with an expected gain of 3.3% in 2013.

One could easily argue that the Zip data is skewed due to a small sampling. Of the 33 markets, only 29 were shown on the infographic chart below. Of those 29 cities listed, 18 were flat to appreciation of less than 10%, and one other (Chicago) posted a 3% drop in median prices. Phoenix led the gains at 29%, followed by Miami at 23%, Palm Beach at 16% and Orlando and San Francisco both showing 14% gains.

Maye ZipRealty has a vested interest in showing a stronger housing market. Maybe 33 markets is not the same as a larger sample. Either way and all caveats aside, this housing market news is good news for those who own homes.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Economy, Housing Tagged: featured