Asking prices hit one-year high in April

A 0.7 percent increase in median home prices in 146 metropolitan areas in April brought them to their highest point in almost a year, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors. Simultaneously, the national inventory of homes for sale was down 19 percent year-over-year, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Median home prices rose from April 2011 levels in 72 of the 146 markets surveyed, or nearly half. They remained stable in 14 markets while falling in the remaining 60. Among individual metros, Phoenix saw the biggest increase, with prices jumping 25 percent year-over-year. Miami (15 percent) and Washington, D.C. (10 percent) were the other big gainers.

At the other end of the spectrum, Chicago and Philadelphia both experienced an 8 percent price drop.

As for the supply of homes on the market, the 19 percent annual drop was distributed fairly evenly across the nation — 140 out of 146 metros saw their available inventory decline. In Oakland, Calif., the April 2012 inventory was down 53 percent from the year before; Phoenix and Atlanta were close behind, at 47 and 39 percent, respectively.

Despite the overall downturn, the national inventory actually rose 2 percent from March to April.

The average amount of time that homes are staying on the market declined as well, to the tune of 11.6 percent from last April. In Oakland, homes were listed for an average of just 20 days, a 55 percent year-over-year decrease.

To read the rest of the Wall Street Journal story, click here.