Tag Archives: Home Prices

While at a national level the housing market continues to recover, a look at local markets reveals a recovery that is most prominent in high-income areas, while lower-income neighborhoods continue to struggle. ProTeck Valuation Services delves into this phenomenon in its latest Home Value Forecast, with a spotlight on the Seattle metro area.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported Thursday that U.S. house prices rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent month-over-month in August. On a year-over-year basis, FHFA's price index was up 4.8 percent, putting it roughly in line with its August 2005 level and 5.8 percent below its peak in April 2007.

Florida Realtors reported that closed sales of single-family homes came to 20,792 last month, an increase of 13.5 percent over September 2013. Meanwhile, the statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in September was $180,000, up 5.9 percent from the previous year.

Though September home sales were down 10.4 percent from August—an expected seasonal trend—September is the first month in 2014 in which home sales exceeded those one year prior, according to the latest National Housing Report from RE/MAX. The firm found that home sales last month were 0.9 percent higher than in September 2013, which is no small feat, considering that 2013 was marked by double-digit growth in home sales nationwide.

According to an analysis from Redfin, housing stock in all of its tracked markets totaled 563,377 in September, up 4.1 percent from August and 6.3 percent from a year prior. Even with the unexpected rise in inventory, analysts at the company expressed doubt that supply will be able to keep pace with demand in the coming months, especially with home affordability still looking favorable.

Buying a home is still cheaper than renting in most markets across the country, and even cheaper than a year ago, according to the latest Rent vs. Buy report from Trulia. According to Trulia, when the purchase includes 20 percent down and a fixed 30-year mortgage, buying is 38 percent cheaper than renting.

Monthly home price appreciation gained steam in August even as a growing number of markets reported declines, according to FNC, Inc. The company's Residential Price Index (RPI) posted national growth of 0.8 percent in August, accelerating from July's 0.6 percent increase. Not all cities saw an acceleration, however.

Condo prices are rising faster than single-family home prices, according to the Trulia Price Monitor, which observes asking prices on a monthly basis. Asking prices for condos rose 7.3 percent year-over-year in September, while asking prices for single-family homes rose 6.0 percent. Condo price gains outpaced single-family price gains in 18 of the largest 20 condo markets, according to Trulia.

Despite an uptick between the second and third quarters, home sales in the state of Pennsylvania failed once again to hit year-ago levels, according to data released Monday by the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors (PAR).

Single-family home sales fell annually in Rhode Island for the fifth month this year in August, dropping by double digits even as selling prices came down, the Warren Group reported. Warren Group CEO Timothy M. Warren Jr. called the decline "discouraging," especially after the market gained some steam in July.