Homes.com, a leading online real estate destination and complete lifestyle resource, released the Homes.com Local Market Index, a new summary of price performance on repeat sales properties in the U.S. Utilizing home pricing data for the period ending March 2013, the index showed 96 out of 100 markets for single-family properties advancing on a monthly basis.
“We’re pleased to provide such a comprehensive pricing index for our dedicated consumers, real estate professionals and partners,” said Brock MacLean, executive vice president of Homes.com. “The new Homes.com Local Market Index provides an exceptionally detailed review of local market pricing trends, performance and growth indicators, leading the way for healthy conversation about America’s real estate markets and—in many of these local areas—their imminent recovery.”
Unlike other existing housing indices, the Homes.com Local Market Index provides:
* Expanded Coverage – Goes beyond the typical 20 markets by covering the top 100 markets or CBSA’s in the U.S. as measured by the U.S. Census Bureau.
* Localized Information– Index values are compiled at the census track level and consolidated into a zip code or neighborhood area. Local index values are compiled into a consolidated index for each CBSA.
* Local Market Variance – Provides a highly detailed view of neighborhood or zip code performance, with many local index values often varying 25% within the same market.
* National Overview – Includes an overview of national statistics, providing a comprehensive picture of the overall health of the economy and the contributing factors to the housing market.
The most recent Local Market Index shows monthly increases in 96 out of the top 100 markets, a sizable improvement from the 75 out of 100 that gained in February and a significant indicator of a nationwide rebound. The Honolulu, Hawaii market again posted the largest monthly increase in March, climbing 2.40 index points from February. The second fastest growing market in March was Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-N.C. with a gain of 2.23 points. On a year-to-year basis, Honolulu, Hawaii had the largest gain at 22.55 index points; the next closest market was Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale with a gain of 18.18.
Those two markets also had the largest year-to-year gain last month. Monthly declines in markets were very nominal, with the largest decrease being a -0.45 index point in the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Pa. local market. Year to year, Jackson, Miss. fell the farthest at -1.35, followed by Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark. at -1.21.
Overall, the top gaining markets this month were evenly spread across all regions except the Midwest. By contrast, a majority of the worst performing markets were concentrated in the Northeast, with only one in the Midwest.
