Homebuyers in the West are taking to the spring real estate season early this year, with home prices up 1.3 percent quarter-over-quarter in April—growth ahead of the typical May schedule, according to the latest Clear Capital Home Data Index (HDI) Market Report. The West saw an 8.1 percent price push year-over-year.
The rest of the country is waiting for a similar outpour of home-buying activity, says Clear Capital Senior Economic Analyst Allison Whealton.
“Growth in the West is beginning to pick up as spring buyers start to enter the market early, boosting price growth in the region, but other areas of the country don’t seem to have thawed out from the cold winter season just yet,” Whealton says.
Home prices in the Northeast and South have each grown 0.9 percent quarter-over-quarter, while prices in the Midwest have grown 0.5 percent, according to the report.
Quarter-over-quarter price growth at the national level posted 1 percent for the first time this year, while year-over-year growth posted an unchanged 6.3 percent.
“Nationally, home prices have increased twice as fast in Q1 2017 as they had in Q1 2016, and with the typical spring buying season just on the horizon, the next few months could be shaping up to be an impressive start to the busiest buying season,” says Whealton.
The metropolitan areas with the fastest quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year price growth are (in order) San Antonio, Texas; Fresno, Calif.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.; and Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Ore./Wash.
Tellingly, the share of distressed activity has fallen 11.8 percent year-over-year—a sign that “the housing market is at its healthiest state since the crash in 2008,” the report states.
Source: Clear Capital
For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.
