Tag Archives: Home Prices

In concurrence with many industry analysts, real estate agents expect price gains to mellow in the near future, according to survey results released by Redfin. Eighty-six percent of agents believe prices will rise over the next few months. However, while a majority of agents expect price gains, a minority expect prices to "rise a lot." The percent of agents who anticipate prices rising "a lot" in coming months fell from 44 percent in the first quarter to just 16 percent in the second quarter, according to Redfin's survey.

April home sales in Connecticut dropped on a yearly basis for the third straight month as prices continued to ascend, the Warren Group reported.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported a 0.7 percent increase in its House Price Index (HPI) from March to April.

The price of a new single-family home dropped 3.2 percent in May, but sales increased 2.1 percent to 476,000, the highest level in almost five years.

Home prices posted their strongest monthly gain on record in April, increasing more than 2.5 percent, according to the Case-Shiller Home Price Indices released Tuesday. Overall, the 10-city index rose to 165.63, its highest level since November 2008, while the 20-city index improved to 152.37, also the highest level since November 2008. Of the 20 cities surveyed, Detroit was the only area not to show an increase in April. The April index of Detroit home prices read 81.28, barely down from 81.30 reported in April.

While the current pace of price appreciation may not sustain itself for much longer, Capital Economics maintains a deceleration in price gains does not mean an end to the housing recovery.

Lender Processing Services' (LPS) Home Price Index (HPI) continued to climb in April, the company revealed. According to LPS' monthly report, the index rose 1.5 percent from March to a value of $217,000. Year-over-year, the index increased 8.1 percent from $201,000. Year-to-date, prices were up 4.5 percent as of April 30. The states reporting the biggest HPI increases were California (2.6 percent), Nevada (2.3 percent), Oregon (2.1 percent), Washington (2.0 percent), and Illinois (1.9 percent, the same as Michigan).

An increase in prices itself does not signal a bubble. An unsustainable increase, not supported by other data, however, would.

Zillow expects prices will continue their upward trajectory in the short-run with a 4.1 percent increase over the following 12 months. However, as inventory increases and interest rates rise, "some demand may also ebb," said Stan Humphries, Zillow's chief economist. These predictions prompted the economist to advise, "Enjoy it while it lasts, because the housing market will undoubtedly look very different a few years down the road from how it appears now."

A plurality of prospective homebuyers responding to an industry survey anticipate down payments of less than 15 percent when they purchase a new home. Forty-four percent of respondents anticipate low down payments of no more than 15 percent, while 34 percent foresee paying between 15 and 24 percent of purchase price at closing. Nineteen percent say they will put down more than 25 percent of their home purchase price when the purchase their next home, according to the survey conducted on behalf of LendingTree.