According to a new report from the National Association of Realtors, the sales price of a single-family existing home rose by 4 per cent in almost 90 per cent of all metropolitan areas measured by the organisation in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago.

Home price growth has decelerated, reflecting rising mortgage rates and a subsequent slowdown in sales. In the last quarter, year-over-year price increases were 8.6 per cent. The median price of a single-family home was $378,700.

Of the 186 metros examined by NAR, 11 per cent of those single-family home prices fell in the fourth quarter of 2022.

These are the top 5 most expensive housing markets, according to the NAR. Median home prices actually declined in three of these markets.

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California, where the median home price was $1.58 million, down 5.8 per cent from a year ago.

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, California, where the median home price was $1.23 million, down 6.1 per cent from a year ago.

Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, California, where the median home price was $1.13 million, down 1.6 per cent from a year ago.

The Honolulu, Hawaii metro area, where the median home price was $1.1 million, up 3.4 per cent from a year ago.

San Diego-Carlsbad, California, where the median home price was $857,000, an increase of 1.4% from a year ago.

The other two metros in the top 10 most expensive real estate markets include Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California, and Boulder, Colorado, where home prices fell by 1.3 per cent and 2 per cent respectively.

"A few markets could see double-digit price declines, particularly some of the more expensive areas of the country that also have poorer employment and more residents moving to other areas," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.

Housing affordability has been severely hampered by high mortgage rates, NAR said.

The typical existing single-family home has a monthly mortgage payment of $1,969 with a 20 per cent down payment," NAR explained, which is a 7 per cent increase from the previous quarter.

According to Freddie Mac data on Thursday, the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.12 per cent as of Feb. 9. This was up from 3.69 per cent in the same week a year ago.