Local market lags behind nation
Home prices in the Triad have appreciated during the last year, but growth here is slower than on the national scene.
The Greensboro-High Point Metropolitan Statistical Area saw housing prices go up just under 3.8 percent during the past year and ranked 214th out of 379 MSAs studied nationwide by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.
Winston-Salem fared better, posting price increases of 6.6 percent between the second quarter of last year and the second quarter of 2006. The city clocked in at 151 on the national rankings list.
Both local MSAs lagged behind the nation, which saw home prices rise more than 10 percent during the yearlong period. Local appreciate also couldn't catch up to growth statewide. Home prices in North Carolina, 24th on the report's ranking of 50 states and the capitol region, went up by about 9.3 percent.
Yet the report also included reasons to take heart ...
North Carolina, one of just four states that posted growth in existing home sales during the first half of this year, saw price appreciation strengthen during the second quarter of 2006. While national home prices went up just under 1.2 percent during the quarter, prices within the state saw growth of more than 1.9 percent.
That's good news for people in Wilmington - 4.5 percent growth during the quarter, 22 percent during the past year - but things remain glum for Greensboro residents. Prices fell in the Greensboro-High Point MSA by 0.4 percent during the quarter. Winston-Salem posted an increase.
Officials with the housing office reported that the national decline in the quarterly rate during the past year is the sharpest since the office began releasing its House Price Index report in 1975.
Translation: The housing market is cooling, and the glut of homes on the market is keeping appreciation down.
To view the full report (about 80 pages), visit the office's Web site.