Nation's Home Prices Grow at Best Rate Since 2014
U.S. home prices are growing at their fastest pace in more than six years, according to the latest CoreLogic report. Nationwide home prices rose 7.3% in October compared with a year ago. Dallas-area prices were up by just more than 6% annually during the same period, by CoreLogic’s measure. North Texas had one of the smallest price increases of the state’s metro areas included in the survey. Austin had the biggest year-over-year home price gain of any major Texas market — 9.6% higher than October 2019 levels. Fort Worth’s prices were 6.32% higher. San Antonio’s home prices rose 6.39%, and in the Houston area, median home prices were 5.6% higher than a year earlier.
A shortage of homes for sale in most major U.S. cities is fueling the price hikes.
“Homebuyers have been spurred by record-low mortgage rates and an urgency to buy or upgrade to more space, especially as much of the American workforce continues to work from home,” Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic, said in the report. “First-time buyers in particular should remain a big part of next year’s home purchases, as the largest wave of millennials is heading into prime home-buying years.”
The greatest price gains have been for more affordable single-family homes.
“The pandemic has shifted home buyer interest toward detached rather than attached homes,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic. “Detached homes offer more living space and are typically located in less densely populated neighborhoods. And while prices of single-family detached homes posted an annual increase of 7.9% in October, the price of attached homes rose only 4.5% year over year.”
The largest nationwide annual single-family home price increases were in Phoenix, up 12.5% in October, Philadelphia (up 12%) and Boston (up 8.7%). CoreLogic predicts that nationwide home prices will rise by only about 2% during the next 12 months.
In the Dallas area, forecasters estimate home prices will grow by a scant 0.4% through October 2021. “However, should the economic recovery from the pandemic be more robust, then we would expect projections for home price performance to improve,” the CoreLogic report said. Home prices in North Texas have risen almost 50% in the past five years.
The median price of single-family homes sold by area real estate agents was up by 12% from October 2019 levels, according to the Realtors’ multiple listing service...
