In Brief: Home Prices Rose Last Year in Most Cities

Prices for repeat sales of homes rose during 1997 in most major metropolitan areas, according to a yearend report from Experian, a nationwide real estate information company.

San Francisco, Phoenix, Boston, and Denver reported gains significantly greater than that in the general inflation rate, the data firm said.

Experian found that the selling prices of homes in Northern California increased dramatically last year, driven by an upbeat economy and employment growth. San Francisco home values jumped 10%, helped by a boost from the technology industry.

Los Angeles-which has the nation's largest housing market-reported a 2% jump, the first increase in home prices since 1990. Despite this uptick, homes bought in 1990 were likely to have lost 27% of their equity value by last year, according to the Experian report.

The metropolitan areas of Phoenix and Boston each reported 7.6% gains in 1997. Phoenix home values were 40% greater than in 1990. Home values in Boston were 3% higher than in 1990.

Changes in home values in the East were less dramatic, reflecting a slower pace of economic recovery than in the West. Atlanta reported 3.9% growth; New York, 0.3%. Washington, D.C., home values declined 2%.

Experian's data were based on repeat sales. It tracks the resale value of homes that have been sold at least twice and determines trends on the basis of gains or declines in home prices.

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