Homes prices in D.C. area lead the rest of the U.S.

The Washington area maintained its status as the healthiest housing market in April with home price gains that led the nation.

Washington was the only market with a gain in April from the year before, as average prices rose 4 percent. The Los Angeles market had the next best year-over-year performance with prices that declined only 2 percent. Nationwide, average prices in the past 12 months declined 4 percent in the latest 20-city S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Index.

A majority of markets managed unadjusted monthly gains from March to April, but none could match the Washington area’s 3 percent increase in average price. San Francisco was second with a March to April gain of 1.7 percent. The 13 markets with gains pulled the national monthly average up to a 0.66 percent advance.

Increase in sale prices - Baltimore Edition

Home sales in the Baltimore metro area rose in December, breaking a five-month streak of plummeting activity as buyers were enticed back into the market by competitive mortgage rates and prices.


But it is unclear whether the 8 percent increase in the number of homes sold last month signals a bottoming out of the struggling housing market. For all of 2010, the number of homes sold in the Baltimore region fell 3 percent from the year-earlier period, according to figures released Monday by the area's multiple-listing service.


Real estate experts attributed the bump-up in sales in December to a number of factors — increased confidence about the economic recovery, greater selection and pricing as inventory has piled up and low interest rates. Buyers raced to lock in more affordable mortgage loans before rates rise, as they are expected to do. Fixed rates on 30-year mortgages averaged 4.77 percent last week, near historic lows.


For more on this article visit here