The U.S. housing market is recovering, but it’s still a ways off from reaching pre-bubble levels.
To assess the recovery of the housing market today, research engine FindTheBest analyzed three market indicators—median home sale price, new homes sold, and foreclosures.
For each indicator, FindTheBest compared the latest data (May 2014) to the housing market at its bottom (February 2009) and at its peak (June 2006).
Median Sale Price:
At a glance: 7.5% below peak
At the peak before the crash, the median sale price for a home in the U.S. was $200,000. By the time the market reached bottom, prices had dropped 29%, to $140,000. While today’s national median sale price has rebounded to $185,000, it’s still about 7.5% lower than the pre-crash high.
New Homes Sold:
At a glance: 72% below peak
New homes sold measures the total monthly sales of newly constructed homes. The number is a strong indicator of the health of the construction market, which—at 72% below market peak—is experiencing a much slower recovery than home sales prices. New homes sold have, however, increased 29% since the market bottom.
Foreclosures:
At a glance: 186% above peak
Lagging behind median sale prices and new homes sold, home foreclosures reached their most critical level—with 1.6 million homes foreclosed—in February 2011. Since that time, the number has decreased 57%, to 673,700 homes foreclosed in May. However, foreclosures are still 186% higher than just before the housing bubble burst, with only 235,000 homes foreclosed in June 2006.
In all, new home sales remain well below peak levels, and foreclosures remain far above.
But there is good news. According to data provided to FindTheBest by leading real estate data provider
