Home Prices Up Almost Universally

By Ryan Dosen

 

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) just released its latest quarterly report for the housing market and the results show an almost universal climb in home sales and home prices throughout the country. This is great news for homeowners, but potentially discouraging news for renters and those unable to obtain financing to buy a home. With market activity and prices surging, and with interest rate hikes on the horizon, those choosing to or needing to sit on the sidelines may be finding themselves increasingly distanced from homeownership.

 

93 Percent of Markets See Price Increases

93 percent of the 176 metropolitan areas analyzed for NAR’s second quarter market report showed home price increases (compared to the second quarter of 2014). This year, only 13 areas endured lower median home prices. 19 percent of metro areas actually saw double-digit price increases in the second quarter of 2015.

The average price of an American home in the second quarter of 2015 was $229,400. This number is 8.2 percent higher than 2014’s second quarter average home price of $212,000. After seeing first and second quarter price gains in 2015 of 7.1 percent and 8.2 percent, respectively, the housing market is humming.

Regional numbers for the northeast were also solid in the second quarter. Total home sales rose 10.3 percent in the northeast and sales are now 8.6 percent ahead of where they were this time last year. Home prices in the northeast are also up 5.2 percent.

 

Increased Household Wealth

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR, observed that “steady rent increases, the slow rise in mortgage rates, and stronger local job markets fueled demand throughout most of the country this spring…. While this led to a boost in sales paces not seen since before the downturn, overall supply failed to keep up and pushed prices higher in a majority of metro areas.”

Yun says that “the ongoing rise in home values in recent years has greatly benefited home owners by increasing their household wealth.” However, he notes that “in the meantime, inequality is growing in America because the downward trend in the home ownership rate means these equity gains are going to fewer households.”

 

Summer Blues Starting to Fade

The second quarter housing market was very strong in Chester County. Many agents and teams I spoke with had their most productive months in years. Then came July. July was slow. But this is typical. That said, we’ve noticed activity picking right back up in August. We’ve had more listings taken and homes go under contract in the last week than we saw in all of July. Other agents are noticing the same thing.

There is still a shortage of nice, properly priced homes on the market. When one hits, it’s often gone before you even knew it was available. We just had a beautiful Downingtown listing go live last Sunday; we put it under contract later that night at full asking price. Through proper presentation and marketing, there was a buzz right out of the gate, helping produce a very fast, strong offer.

Make sure you have an agent that knows how to sell your home to real estate agents as well as their clients. That first sale to the agents may be the most important sale. It is also the one most often overlooked.

 

– Ryan Dosen manages The Wayne Megill Real Estate Team of Keller Williams – Brandywine Valley in West Chester, PA. Contact Ryan Dosen to inquire about buyer or seller representation or to learn more about a career in real estate by emailing ryan@waynemegillteam.com or calling 610-399-0338.

 

This article was published by 21st Century Media and the Daily Local News (West Chester, PA). To read this article on the the newspaper’s site, please visit the Daily Local News.

To view all of Ryan Dosen’s 21st Century Media real estate columns, visit http://www.dailylocal.com/search?text=dosen.