Property values nationwide continued to strengthen going into 2016, according to the recently released FNC December home price report – the last report for 2015.
According to the FNC Residential Price Index (RPI), home prices finished 2015 with the fastest pace of yearly appreciation since October 2014. As of December, average property value rose 6.2 percent from the same period a year ago, compared to 4.7 percent at the start of the year.
Despite reported slowing economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2015, home prices grew 6.0 percent during the same period as activities in the housing sector remain robust, with key indicators all pointing to modest to strong growth.
“Now with the spring home buying season soon upon us and with interest rates hovering at historical lows, as well as favorable credit conditions to support home ownership, the latest price trends give many Americans another piece of important information while considering buying a home,” says Yanling Mayer, housing economist and Director of Research at FNC.
To further inform and help potential home buyers evaluate their decisions, FNC complied a 2015 year-end home price snapshot to provide a measure of not only the strength of the ongoing recovery, but also how far have the nation’s largest housing markets come along since the market crash.
“Nationwide, average property value is up 28 percent since early 2012, although there is considerable variation in the pace of the recovery across the country,” Mayer says. “When benchmarked against the level attained in summer 2007 – when U.S. home prices began a freefall – current price level is about 13 percent below the peak run-up,” Mayer said.
“But again, they varied widely by market, attributable to the extent of market fallout as well as the strength of the recovery in the last four years. A handful of cities – including Denver, San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas – have made significant strides and are seeing property values higher than eight and a half years ago,” continues Mayer.
For more information, visit www.fncinc.com.
