June 17, 2019
Orlando Among the Cities with Highest Year-Over-Year Raise in Home Prices
The First American Real House Price Index is a report designed to measure price changes among single-family properties nationwide, taking into account the differences over time between income and changes in interest rate on the capabilities of consumers to purchase properties—at the local, state, and national levels. As such, it also provides a look at the affordability of housing. In February, the Real House Price Index took a look at the numbers as of December 2018, when there was a brief but significant slowdown in the increase in housing prices. What it found:
The “real” prices of housing had increased, by that point by 11.8 percent from the same time the year previous—this despite a month-over-month decrease of 2.4 percent since November. As a result, the house-buying power of consumers increased in that same month-to-month period by 3.1 percent, though overall their house-buying power had decreased by five percent from where it stood in December 2017.
The average income of American households underwent a rise of 3.1 percent since December 2017—and a stunning 55 percent since January of 2000, despite the so-called “Great Recession” that took place at the midpoint between those two years. Meanwhile, “real house prices” are 12 percent lower than they were in January 2000.
Perhaps most interestingly: without taking adjustments into account, house prices in December stood at two percent above their prices at the peak of house prices in 2006. But given the adjustments this report takes into account, that number comes in at 37.2 percent lower than 2006 home purchase costs.
Meanwhile, the drop of mortgage rates in December from 4.87 percent to 4.64 percent resulted in a house-buying power boost of around $10,000.
The five markets where the Real House Price Index went up the most year-over-year included our service area of Orlando, Florida. Also among them: Cleveland, OH; Las Vegas, NV; Columbus, OH; and Charlotte, NC.
The real estate market is always in flux, and things have certainly changed since December. But whatever the state of the market, we here at Topouzis & Associates, P.C. are experts at ferreting out defects of title and disposing with them in advance of closing in order to decrease the murkiness of property ownership. We take pride in the great amount and quality of experience we bring to the closing table in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Florida. Contact us if you want a partner in your property closing—one who makes everyone involved feel like family.
