Study Finds California-Like States Have Highest Home Price Growth

Single-family home prices are rising across the U.S., with the greatest gain in both Nevada and Washington state at 12.6 percent, according to a new study from Realtor.com. Idaho and Utah were close behind. 

Both the Gem State and Beehive State had home price increases over 11 percent, at 12.3 and 11.2 percent respectively. California closed out the top five, yet its price growth was several points lower, 8.9 percent. "California is losing its luster," says Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. "These areas have a lot of California-like amenities, dry, sunny weather and great outdoor activities, but they don’t have exorbitantly high home prices, congestion.”

All of the cities and states where prices are rising the most are seeing strong job growth, says Frank Nothaft, chief economist of CoreLogic. "Millennials move there for the job opportunities," Nothaft says. And once they arrive, they compete with locals for a very limited supply of properties, driving up prices. "That's adding to the demand to buy homes.” Nationally, each state saw single-family home price increases. Wyoming had the lowest price gains, at just 0.4 percent as of March. Washington, DC, wasn't too far behind at 1.4 percent; followed by Alaska, at 1.7 percent; Oklahoma, at 1.9 percent; and South Dakota, at 2 percent.

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