In 2015, over one-third of the country’s major metro areas reached all-time high home prices. Detroit, one of these locations, hit a peak in October. According to the real estate records, the median sale price was $155,000. Other areas approaching peak levels included Dallas, St. Louis, Denver, Pittsburgh, and Portland.
For the first 10 months of 2015, over 2.8 million single-family properties and condos were sold. This marked a nine-year high and was a 6 percent increase from 2014. The median sales price was $207,000, which was up 10 percent from 2014. Even though there was an increase for four consecutive years, the median sales price was still 9 percent under the top price in 2005.
In October, approximately 90 percent of markets realized an increase in home prices. If you are a home seller, you are enjoying this market. Average sellers are receiving a 16 percent profit-since-purchase.
Real estate experts have explained October 2015 saw cash sales increasing for the third consecutive month. This segment accounted for almost 29 percent of monthly sales. Even though this number is up from previous months, it is down from last year.
The latest numbers for October also showed 8.1 percent of single-family residences were owned by banks. On a positive note, this was down from October 2014. The median price of these bank-owned properties was $121,000. This was 42 percent less than the median home price for the month. Metro locations with the largest portion of October REO sales were East Stroudsburg, PA, Bakersfield, CA, and Tallahassee, Fl.