HousingWire reports the National Association of Realtors (NAR) says Q4 2012 witnessed the strongest year-over-year median home price rise in seven years. NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun says with the lowest unsold inventory of homes in 12 years, and the population growing faster than the housing stock, the existing median single-family home price rose in 133 out of 152 metropolitan areas in the fourth quarter of 2012. The national median price hit $178,900 in Q4, ten percent higher than last year. Distressed homes made up 23 percent of fourth quarter sales, a drop from 30 percent the previous fourth quarter. As MHProNews has learned, total Q4 home sales rose five percent to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 4.9 million, up from 4.66 million the previous quarter and 12.1 percent above the 4.37 million for the same quarter 2011.
