After reaching 20-year highs in the second half of 2022, mortgage rates are returning to more stable levels, and while lower borrowing costs are translating to falling home prices in some regional markets, other homebuying destinations are still seeing prices rise. The median U.S. home listing was priced at $424,495 in March, up 6% from one year earlier, but markets such as Omaha, Neb., though still affordable with a median home listing price of $344,500, posted a steady year-over-year gain of 80% from a median list price of just $190,000 a year ago.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, saw a 27% drop in its median list price in March, and Austin, Texas, and Bend, Ore., saw prices fall 8% and 6%, respectively, in March, Realtor.com reports.
Prices also rose dramatically in places like Jackson, TN, where they were up 59% year over year, to $223,000 in March; Champaign, IL, up 53%, to about $257,000; and Fayetteville, NC, up 44%, to $342,500.
"What we're seeing is that real estate is becoming more regional and more local," Hale says. "People have always said that, but for several years, housing was almost like a commodity, where everyone who owned saw appreciation. Now we see it really matters how the local economy is doing, how well the area is attracting new residents, how well the builders can keep up with demand."
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