12 States With the Hottest Housing Markets
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12 States With the Hottest Housing Markets

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Home prices are increasing as the holiday season approaches, but some states are seeing larger gains than others.

U.S. home prices rose 6.3 percent in September compared to the same month a year ago, according to the latest figures from CoreLogic. Home values also increased month over month by 1.1 percent, the company found.

“Home-equity wealth has doubled during the last five years to $13 trillion, largely because of the recovery in home prices,” said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Nationwide during the past year, the average gain in housing wealth was about $11,000 per homeowner, but with wide geographic variation.”

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Overall, prices fell in only two states — Alaska and Connecticut — while a dozen states recorded price increases that outpaced the national average. Here they are:

No. 12: Tennessee
6.4% increase in home prices year-over-year
The number of homes sales jumped 9.7 percent in Middle Tennessee in October compared to a year ago, while the number of sales in the Memphis area rose 12 percent.

No. 11: Nevada
6.4% increase in home prices year-over-year
Home sales rose 5.5 percent from a year ago in the state’s biggest city, Las Vegas. Single-family home purchases increased 6.7 percent and condominiums and townhomes rose 6.1 percent year over year.

No. 10: New York
6.5% increase in home prices year-over-year
Home sales in the Empire jumped 11 percent in the first three quarters of 2016 versus the same period a year ago. Third-quarter sales edged up 2.8 percent year over year, while September sales rose a modest 2.1 percent.

No. 9: Texas
6.7% increase in home prices year-over-year
Home sales in Texas inched up less than a half-percent in the third quarter. Houses spent an average of 53 days on the market, a day longer than the same quarter in 2015.

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No. 8: South Dakota
6.8% increase in home prices year-over-year
Pending sales in the Sioux Falls region rose 24.9 percent in October compared to a year ago, while inventory levels fell 14.2 percent. New for sale listings increased 6.4 percent.

No. 7: West Virginia
7.2% increase in home prices year-over-year
The state issued 19 percent more new residential permits in September compared to the same month in 2015, the latest data available. Housing starts fell 6.3 percent year over year, but were up 11.6 percent from August.

No. 6: Florida
7.5% increase in home prices year-over-year
Home sales in the Sunshine State slipped less than a half-percent in the third quarter compared to a year ago. Taking out foreclosures and short sales, traditional sales for condo-townhouse units rose 5.7 percent and traditional sales for single-family homes increased 11.5 percent year over year.

No. 5: Idaho
7.7% increase in home prices year-over-year
Home purchases in the state’s most populous county, Ada County, increased 11 percent from October 2015, while number of pending sales increased 7.8 percent.

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No. 4: Utah
7.8% increase in home prices year-over-year
The number of home sales in Utah fell 3.4 percent in September year-over-year, while year-to-date sales volume was up 1.8 percent.

No. 3: Colorado
8.6% increase in home prices year-over-year
The number of single-family home sales slid 1 percent in October from the previous year, while townhouse-condo sales volume dropped 3.8 percent year over year.

No. 2: Oregon
10.1% increase in home prices year-over-year
Home sales in Oregon’s largest city, Portland, decreased 6.2 percent year-over-year in September. Pending sales also cooled off, down 3.8 percent versus 2015.

No. 1: Washington
10.3% increase in home prices year-over-year
Closed home sales in northwest Washington jumped 10.1 percent in October, while the number of pending sales gained 6.9 percent year over year.

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