Home prices stabilize during fourth quarter

Housing prices in more than half of the major metropolitan areas experienced gains during the fourth quarter, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Overall, sales rebounded in 49 states and 78 metropolitan markets showed price gains.

Although total state existing-home sales rose 15.4% during the fourth quarter, they remained 19.5% below the surge in the fourth quarter of 2009, which was fueled by the first-time buyer tax credit deadline.

“Home sales clearly recovered in the latter part of 2010 and are helping to absorb the inventory, including many distressed properties,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “Even with foreclosures continuing to enter the inventory pipeline, they’ve been selling well and housing supplies have trended down. A recovery to normalcy requires steady trimming of the inventories.”