By Amy Hoak From The Wall Street Journal Online
Median home values rose 32% from 2000 to 2005, but homes in San Diego fared a lot better than the national estimate, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Tuesday.
The median home value for San Diego homes, adjusted for inflation, rose 127% to $567,000 from $249,000, during the period. It was the largest increase among the country's biggest cities, according to the Bureau's American Community Survey. The survey covered 7,000 areas with a population of 65,000 or more.
Of the 15 largest cities surveyed, Los Angeles came in behind San Diego, with a median home-value increase of 110%, adjusted for inflation, followed by New York, with a rise of 79%.
Related Links The Census Bureau's American Community Survey
Of the 15 smallest cities surveyed, Boynton Beach, Fla., reigned with a real median home-value increase of 120%, followed by Folsom, Calif., where the median home value rose 100%, and Redondo Beach, Calif., with a 92% gain.
Although the survey quantifies some of the home-value gains seen in recent years, the findings aren't especially surprising. "Just about anyone who owns a home or has been in the market for one in the past few years knows first-hand how home values jumped from 2000 to 2005," said Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon in a news release.
Perspective on recent declines
But the data put recent headlines about home price declines into perspective, said Charles Jolly, president of the San Diego Association of Realtors and a Realtor for more than 30 years.
Real estate reports that focus on recent losses are "comparing everything to last year," Jolly said. He said he's seen his share of ups and downs in the market; the current state of affairs is just another part of a cycle.
He gave an example of a particular San Diego property that sold in 2000 for $345,000 and would have sold for $745,000 in 2005. Today, it would probably sell for less than $700,000, he said.
Costs rise
The monthly cost of owning a home also rose during the first half of the decade, according to the survey. Homeowners' median monthly cost -- including mortgage payment and certain other costs, adjusted for inflation -- rose 5%, the survey found.
Among the largest cities, Detroit, Chicago and San Francisco experienced some of the greatest increases. The median monthly cost rose 24% in Detroit, 22% in Chicago and 20% in San Francisco.
Some smaller cities, such as Bryan, Texas, and Greenville, N.C., saw cost decreases of about 10%.
Rents on the rise
The median cost of renting a home also increased, jumping an inflation-adjusted 6.7% nationally between 2000 and 2005.
Large cities that experienced high jumps in the median cost of renting include San Diego, where costs rose 27%; Detroit, up 27%; and Los Angeles, up 16%.
Among the smallest cities surveyed, Redondo Beach, Calif., saw the median cost of renting increase 22%.
Real median rent cost decreased in some large cities, including San Jose, where rent costs fell 9%, and Dallas, where they dropped 3%.
Also, the survey found that more than two-thirds of the country's total occupied housing units were owner-occupied in 2005. That is, 74.3 million housing units were owner-occupied in 2005, up 4.5 million from 69.8 million owner-occupied units reported in the 2000 Census.
Largest 15 cities
Here's how home prices have fared, adjusted for inflation, in the biggest U.S. cities:
City 2000 home value 2005 home value Percent change
New York $250,746 $449,000 79%
Los Angeles 244,398 513,800 110%
Chicago 163,575 245,000 50%
Houston 87, 852 112,800 28%
Philadelphia 69,148 100,200 45%
Phoenix 121,292 184,300 52%
San Diego 249,386 566,700 127%
San Antonio, Texas 76,516 89,800 17%
Dallas 99,074 120,900 22%
San Jose, Calif. 425,657 625,40047%
Detroit 71,188 88,300 24%
Jacksonville, Fla. 95,333 144,600 52%
Indianapolis 109,503 117,900 7.7%
San Francisco 479,161 726,700 52%
Columbus, Ohio 112,337 132,100 18%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey
Copyright © 2005 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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