 The 
        National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently reported that median home 
        prices in the United States rose a whopping 9.1% in the second quarter 
        of 2004 compared to that of the second quarter last year. According to 
        the NAR, the median value for a home is now $183,800.
The 
        National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently reported that median home 
        prices in the United States rose a whopping 9.1% in the second quarter 
        of 2004 compared to that of the second quarter last year. According to 
        the NAR, the median value for a home is now $183,800.  
         
        Leading the way for 
        such a dramatic increase in median home price is Las Vegas, where median 
        home values rose 52.4% to $269,900. Orange County, CA, in suburban Los 
        Angeles, saw a 39% increase driving its median home prices to $655,300, 
        making it higher than that of homes in the San Francisco Bay area 
        (median home price $647,300) for the first time in history.
         
        Of the 128 metropolitan 
        areas covered in this NAR survey, these two in California had the 
        highest median home prices. The lowest median home prices were in South 
        Bend/Mishawaka, OR ($93,800) and Syracuse, NY ($94,700). In South Bend, 
        the values rose 3.1% and in Syracuse, they were up 2%.
         
        A few of these 
        metropolitan areas actually saw a drop in median home values. The 
        biggest decline was in Knoxville, TN, where home values went down 7% to 
        $131,400.