Housing Market Improvement

Positive Growth of Home Prices in August

The steadily rising pace of home prices in August since the same time last year is a sure sign that the housing market is improving, in spite of an overall slowdown in our economy.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 5.1% in the 12 months ending in August, according to figures released Tuesday. That’s up from a 4.9% pace in July.

Home prices have risen at a 5% pace for the better part of this year, which economists define as more sustainable than last year’s double-digit gains. This can be attributed to a few specific factors: three years of solid hiring and historically low mortgage rates have enabled more Americans to buy homes. That’s helped by lifting sales of existing homes nearly 9% in just the past year.

“Sales of existing homes jumped 4.7% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.5 million. That’s a reassuring sign that the housing sector has so far been insulated from weaker growth overseas that is slowing growth in the U.S. manufacturing and energy sectors.”

This is all good news for potential home buyers! If you have any questions or would like to talk about how these changes might affect you, please do not hesitate to contact me.