Seattle housing
(Flickr Photo / Harold Hollingsworth )

Home prices in Seattle continue to climb faster than any other city in the nation, giving the Emerald City the title of the hottest housing market for the 15th straight month.

According to the latest Case-Shiller national home price report, Seattle home prices in November rose 12.7 percent over the same period a year prior. The report calls out Las Vegas and San Francisco as the second and third fastest-rising housing markets.

Seattle’s price gains more than double the national average of 6.2 percent. High demand and low inventory are responsible for home price hikes across the country, Case-Shiller says. In Seattle, the trend is exacerbated by a population boom fueled by rapid job growth in technology and other industries.

Zillow lists the median home value in Seattle at more than $718,700. The Seattle-based real estate company says prices rose 16.2 percent over the last year, but Zillow expects gains to slow to 5.7 percent over the next year.

Despite countless cranes that dot the Seattle skyline, real estate development has not been able to keep up with the city’s breakneck population gains. That is especially true with for-sale homes, where geographic restrictions hem in how many homes can be built in the city.

Quadrant Homes recently pitched one of the largest for-sale projects in decades in Seattle. Quadrant proposes to build 63 homes on 18 acres near the University of Washington. However, this project, if it happens, wouldn’t be much help to first-time homebuyers. The Seattle Times reports that these homes could fetch upwards of $2 million a piece.

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