This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
A DECADE after the global financial crisis, the median house price in 57 of 105 US metropolitan cities have risen above the pre-recession peak in the Q1 2018.
The report by Attom Data Solutions found across the US, the median home price of $240,000 in Q1 2018 was less than 1% below its pre-recession peak of $241,500 in Q3 2005, but still up 9.1% from a year ago.
The top performers above the pre-recession peaks were Houston, Texas (69% above); Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas (67% above); Denver, Colorado (62% above); San Jose, California (60% above); and San Antonio, Texas (57% above).
Other major metros with at least 1 million people and with Q1 2018 median home prices at least 30% above pre-recession peaks were Nashville, Tennessee (46% above); Austin, Texas (45% above); Salt Lake City, Utah (42% above); Raleigh, North Carolina (35% above); Indianapolis, Indiana (31% above); and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (30% above).
Attom senior vice president Daren Blomquist said rising interest rates and recently enacted tax reform that removed some tax incentives for homeownership were not enough to cool off red-hot home price appreciation in many parts of the country, with 30 of the 105 local markets analyzed posting double-digit gains in median home prices in the first quarter.
“Home prices are still below pre-recession peaks in 46% of local markets, but nearly one-third of even those markets posted double-digit home price appreciation in the first quarter,” he noted.
The report found prices in Philadelphia, Hartford, Chicago, Baltimore, Tucson still below pre-recession peaks. Median home prices in 48 of the 105 metro areas analyzed in the report (46%) were still below pre-recession peaks in Q1 2018, led by Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut (25% below); New Haven, Connecticut (22% below); Allentown, Pennsylvania (21% below); Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (20% below); and Hartford, Connecticut (19% below).
Along with Philadelphia and Hartford, other major metros with at least 1 million people and with Q1 2018 median home prices at least 15% below pre-recession peaks were Chicago, Illinois (19% below); Baltimore, Maryland (17% below); Tucson, Arizona (16% below); Las Vegas, Nevada (16% below); and New York-Newark-Jersey City (15% below).
San Jose, Flint, Spokane, Reno, Seattle post biggest annual home price increases
Among the 105 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed in the report, those posting the biggest year-over-year increase in median home prices were San Jose, California (up 33%); Flint, Michigan (up 20%); Spokane, Washington (up 18%); Reno, Nevada (up 17%); and Seattle, Washington (up 16%).
Local Market Monitor founder Ingo Winzer said in 2018 and in the next couple of years, more markets will enter boom territory.
“It’s strange to say after so many years of stagnation, but buyers will want to beware right now in Denver, Miami, the LA area, Austin, San Francisco, Tampa and Seattle, where home prices are already 25% higher than they should be.
“We don’t think a bust is imminent — in fact we think prices in these markets will keep going up for several years — but dynamics like this have always ended badly in the past.” Winzer said.
Meanwhile the Attom report found homeownership tenure have posts largest quarterly drop since Q4 2008.
U.S. homeowners who sold in Q1 2018 had been in their homes an average of 8.00 years, down 2% from 8.14 years in Q4 2017 — the biggest quarterly drop in average homeownership tenure since Q4 2008 — but still up from 7.69 years in Q1 2017.
Among 40 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 1 million, those with the biggest quarterly drop in average homeownership tenure were Cleveland, Ohio (down 6%); Seattle, Washington (down 6%); Salt Lake City, Utah (down 5%); Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota (down 4%); and Sacramento, California (down 4%).
Australian Property Journal
