A Growing Number of Markets Are ‘Fully Recovered’

The housing recovery is undeniable and widespread, according to ""Homes.com's"":http://press.homes.com/ Local Market Index and Rebound Reports, released this week by the Norfolk, Virginia-based online real estate source. The index detected rising prices in all the nation's top 100 markets for the first time on record in April.

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This is up markedly from the 75 markets reporting gains in February, according to Homes.com.

""With home prices posting the strongest gains in seven years, the Rebound Report is another indicator of a positive turn,"" said Brock MacLean, EVP at Homes.com.

Not only is progress being made, but according to Homes.com, 14 of the top 100 markets are ""fully recovered,"" and 35 markets are at least halfway to ""recovered"" status.

Over the month of April, five markets joined the list of ""fully recovered"" markets.

Fully recovered markets are those that have regained their full price declines lost during the recession.

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Several markets--in fact, all of the top 10--have passed this milestone. Most of the markets that have surpassed ""fully recovered"" status are those that experienced the mildest recession-induced declines, and many are located in energy-producing states.

Six of the top 10 markets with the most significant rebounds are located in Texas, and four of these Texas markets are more than 200 percent above their price troughs.

San Antonio (233 percent), Houston (223 percent), Austin (220 percent), and Dallas (203 percent) claim the top four spots on Homes.com's top 10 list.

On the other hand, the lowest-performing markets on Homes.com's index tend to be those that experienced the deepest price troughs during the recession.

""Although the change is positive, the rebound is slow indicating higher inventories may exist in these areas,"" reads the Homes.com report.

So far, among the top 100 U.S. markets, none in the Northeast are fully recovered, and only one Western market in the index is fully recovered.
The highest concentration of fully recovered top 100 markets is in the South, where 10 markets are fully recovered.

Topping the list of lowest-performing markets on Homes.com's Rebound Report are New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania (12 percent); Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut (11 percent); Stockton, California (11 percent); and Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida (11 percent).