by Calculated Risk on 5/12/2005 12:43:00 PM

From CNN, the National Association of Realtors reports:

U.S. residential real estate markets lost no steam in the first quarter of 2005, according to statistics released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors.

The NAR's quarterly report covers 136 metro areas. A record 66 of these have experienced double-digit jumps in home prices over the past year.

The previous record was 62 in the last quarter of 2004. Only six areas showed a fall in prices and those declines were fairly modest.

In a separate news release, NAR report that "First Quarter State Existing-Home Sales in Record Territory".

Total existing-home sales, which include single-family and condos, were at the third-highest pace on record in the first quarter. In addition, 44 states and the District of Columbia showed higher sales in comparison with a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors.

NAR’s latest report on total existing-home sales shows that nationwide the seasonally adjusted annual rate was 6.84 million units in the first quarter, up 8.3 percent from a 6.32 million-unit level in the first quarter of 2004. The record was a pace of 6.90 million units in the second quarter of 2004, followed by 6.88 million in the fourth quarter of last year.

CNN also provides a list of the price changes by metro area. The usual suspects are at the top of the list (mostly Florida), but many surprising cities reported double digit price gains:

Charleston WV	13.0%	$112,500
Champaign/Urbana/Rantoul IL	12.9%	$120,700
Biloxi/Gulfport MS	12.8%	$121,100
Wichita KS	11.7%	$105,100
Portland ME	11.5%	$243,100
Nashville TN	11.3%	$152,100
Albuquerque NM	11.1%	$149,700
Aurora/Elgin IL	11.0%	$229,300
New Orleans LA	10.9%	$141,200
Birmingham AL	10.9%	$152,100
South Bend/Mishawaka IN	10.7%	$91,100
Amarillo TX	10.7%	$102,600
Springfield IL	10.4%	$92,700
Green Bay WI	10.3%	$152,800

The boom is close to Nationwide.