Homes.com Local Market Index and Rebound Reports Show Continuing Recovery for Seventh Consecutive Month

NORFOLK, Va. (December 31, 2013) – Homes.com, a leading online real estate destination and a division of Dominion Enterprises, has released its October Local Market Index, a price performance summary of repeat sales of U.S. properties. Utilizing home pricing data, the Index shows year-over-year gains for single-family properties in all 300 top U.S. markets.

To provide insight into local sector housing trends across the country, Homes.com publishes the Local Market Index for the Top 100 markets and the companion Midsize Markets Report for defined areas ranked from 101-300. Month-over-month increases in index values were seen in 253 of the top 300 markets, up from 251 the previous month. This stabilizing environment is likely due to both seasonal trends and the state of recovery for these markets.

As a complement to the Local Market Index, Homes.com publishes an exclusive Rebound Report, highlighting how the housing recovery process is unfolding across the country. It measures each market's peak-to-trough decline in index value, which had been attributed to the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble.

The number of markets that reached full recovery remains consistent with the previous month at 26. While the number of top 100 markets achieving a full recovery remained steady from the previous month, there is noticeable improvement in the number of these markets pertaining to overall recovery. This month, 55 of the top 100 markets have recovered to more than 50 percent of their loss in home prices due to the housing bubble burst. Additionally, 58 midsize markets are now more than 100% rebounded, up 4 from last month, bringing the total to 84 (28%) U.S. markets that have achieved a full recovery.

All of the 200 midsize local markets measured continued to show gains year over year for the single-family index. For the fifth consecutive month, Anchorage, Alaska and Hilo, Hawaii continue to be the top two performing markets on a year-over-year basis. Anchorage takes the top spot, increasing by 20 percent, followed by Hilo with a 15 percent increase. The West continues to dominate the midsize markets, with nine of the top 10 markets that increased annually showing year-over-year gains. The top 10 monthly performing markets are in the South with Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH and Huntsville, AL as the top two.

"It is encouraging to see both large and small markets experiencing continued improvements as the housing market maintains steady stabilization. Moving into 2014, sustained recovery will push the market forward with markets in the West and heartland area leading the pack," said Brock MacLean, executive vice president of Homes.com. "These price gains are restoring millions of homeowners to positive equity and are reviving local real estate markets across the country."

The latest Homes.com Local Market Index reports the following:

• Year-over-year increases in all top 300 markets.
• Monthly increases in 88 of the top 100 markets and in 165 of the 200 midsized markets.
• Honolulu, Hawaii remains the top gaining market on a year-over-year basis, with a 29.69 index point or 13.43 percent increase.
• California markets [Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif.; San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif., San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif.; Bakersfield-Delano, Calif.] are the remaining 4 in the top 5. Year over year, they increased 28.18, 27.05, 26.66 and 22.05 index points, respectively.
• Of the top 10 monthly gaining markets from the top 100, five are in the West.

Highlights from the Homes.com Rebound Report for the top 300 markets show:

• 84 have made more than a 100 percent rebound, indicating a complete recovery in these markets. This is an increase from 80 markets in the previous reporting period.
• The 4 newest markets to achieve a full rebound are Johnson City, Tenn., Spartanburg, S.C., Anderson, S.C., and Elkhart-Goshen, Ind.
• 158 show more than a 50 percent rebound, up from 152 markets in the previous month.
• 23 percent (19) of the 84 fully rebounded markets reported month-over-month losses, and the remaining averaged .5 percent gains month-over-month compared to .78 percent gain in non-recovered markets. This illustrates the seasonal downtrend in the housing market along with a leveling of home prices.
• 22 markets were not affected by the boom-bust scenario of the U.S. housing bubble. These markets did not experience the same peak-to-trough decline displayed by the remaining 278 markets. All of these markets are midsize markets, with half from the state of Texas and 73 percent from energy-producing areas. They include: Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas; Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Texas; Shreveport-Bossier City, La.; Anchorage, Alaska; Fayetteville, N.C.; Charleston, W.Va.; Lubbock, Texas; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Amarillo, Texas; Waco, Texas; College Station-Bryan, Texas; Longview, Texas; Tyler, Texas; Fargo, N.D.-Minn.; Jacksonville, N.C.; Monroe, La.; Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa; Abilene, Texas; Iowa City, Iowa; Wichita Falls, Texas; Sioux City, Iowa-Neb.-S.D.; and Midland, Texas.

About Homes.com

As one of the nation's top online real estate destinations, Homes.com inspires consumers to dream big. From affordable houses to luxurious estates, condos, rentals and more, Homes.com features close to three million property listings and a user-friendly format, making finding your next home or a licensed real estate agent easily accessible. Visitors to the Homes.com blog will find a collection of rich content and posts on DIY projects, painting, gardening and more, providing the ultimate resource for everything home related. From purchasing a first home, to upgrading, downsizing and everything in between, Homes.com is an inspiring and engaging partner in every phase of the home buying process.

Homes.com is a division of Dominion Enterprises, a leading marketing services and publishing company headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia. For more information, visit www.dominionenterprises.com.

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