Nations Top Spot for Housing Appreciation in 2005...

Housing in Phoenix barely nabs top market, from the Arizona Republic, reports that Metropolitan Phoenix snagged the nations top spot for housing appreciation in 2005, with housing prices soaring 48.9% during the year. Most of the growth occured in the first three quarters of 2005, and prices only grew 1% by the end of the fourth quarter, signaling a cooling of the market. The numbers were from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The median price of an existing Valley home now sits at $257,000, down from the $260,000 in December. Jay Butler of the Arizona Real Estate Center at ASU estimates that speculators and investors inflated metropolitan Phoenix home prices by as much as 25 percent in 2005.

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