Home prices continue to rise across the country with 89% of markets posting price gains and the national median home price hitting $319,200. According to the National Association of Realtors, that’s a 16.2% year-over-year increase, which brings the monthly mortgage payment for a single-family home from $995 one year ago to $1,067 today. While home prices and mortgages are rising, as are qualifying median family incomes, mortgage rates remain steadily below one year ago. The most expensive single-family markets are predominantly in California, with the exception of Honolulu.
Knowing the mortgage rates and the qualifying incomes for down payments will help potential homeowners figure out which metro areas are affordable for them.
Here is a look at the metro areas with the strongest price growth in the first quarter of 2021, as well as a look at the yearly change in median existing single-family home prices among the top five highest- and lowest-growth metro areas of the first quarter of 2021.
These are the top five single-family metro areas with the highest home price appreciation:
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