US Condo Prices Showed Solid Gains in 2005

Condo prices just about kept pace with home prices during 2005, rising 12.3 percent in the United States as single-family home prices jumped 13.6 percent.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has launched its first report on condominium and co-op apartment prices, covering 51 U.S. markets.

The median condo now sells for $228,200, compared with $213,000 for the median single-family house. (Click here for a table tracking all 51 markets.) Half the condos sold for prices above the median and the rest below.

David Lereah, chief economist for NAR, noted, "The national condo price is higher than the median single-family home price because there is a high concentration of condos in the most expensive metropolitan areas."

Within most metro areas, however, the typical single-family homes costs more than a typical condo.

The most expensive condo market is San Franciso, where the median unit sold for $616,800. Los Angeles is second at $406,600.

Phoenix showed the biggest condo price gain of 50.9 percent. The New York metro area, which includes the outer boroughs and northern New Jersey, had an impressive gain of 24.4 percent from an already high base. The typical condo there reached $326,500.

Seven metro areas experienced falling condo prices. Worst hit was Toledo, Ohio, where prices sank 6.9 percent to $141,600, and Syracuse, N.Y., which lost 5.2 percent, to $133,900.

The South led all regions with a 17.3 percent gain. The Northeast gained 16 percent, the Midwest 4.1 percent, and the West 2.1 percent.