Washington housing prices up 8.4%

Existing home prices in the Washington market posted the biggest year-over-year gain in the nation last month, even as prices and sales declined nationally.

The National Association of Realtors says existing home prices in Washington were up 8.4 percent compared to October 2009, with a median price of $327,700. Existing home sales in Washington were down 23.9 percent.

Washington's housing prices gains topped those in other cities which saw increases, including Indianapolis, San Antonio and New Orleans.

Existing home prices in Baltimore were up 0.4 percent from a year earlier, with a median price of $245,500. Sales were down 29.6 percent from a year ago in Baltimore.

Nationally, existing home sales declined 2.2 percent from September, and were down 25.9 percent from October 2009, when sales were surging prior to the initial deadline for the home buyer tax credit.

Prices nationally were down 0.9 percent from a year ago, though half of the nation's 20 largest cities saw an increase in prices.

"The housing market is experiencing an uneven recovery, and a temporary foreclosure stoppage in some states is likely to have held back a number of completed sales," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "Still, sales activity is clearly off the bottom and is attempting to settle into normal sustainable levels."

The trade group forecasts sales that will steadily improve to healthier levels by next spring.