"The U.S. housing recovery showed no signs of slowing in the final stages of 2012"
- Paul Diggle, property economist for Capital Economics Ltd.
Prices for single-family homes in the world's largest economy surged in almost 88% of all cities in the last three months of 2012, pointing at strong recovery in the property market. According to the National Association of Realtors, the median sales price increased from a year earlier in 133 of 152 metropolitan areas measured, up from 120 areas in the third quarter. At the end of the fourth quarter, 1.82 million existing homes were available for sale, 22% less than a year earlier, indicating strong domestic demand for property. At the same time, the average price of an existing single-family home stood at $178,900 in the fourth quarter, up 10% from the same period last year.
"The U.S. housing recovery showed no signs of slowing in the final stages of 2012," Paul Diggle, property economist for Capital Economics Ltd. in London, said in a note to clients after CoreLogic's report was released. "And the early signs are that these gains will be extended throughout 2013 as the economy continues its recovery."
"Our expectation is that the U.S. housing market will deliver more of the same in 2013 -- increased start activity, modest home price appreciation, and continued cleansing of the stock of shadow inventory," Michael Gapen, a New York-based senior economist at Barclays Plc, said in a research note before the report.
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