Housing Market Updates

Why the Median Home Price Is Meaningless in Today’s Market

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) will release its latest Existing Home Sales (EHS) report later this week. This monthly report provides information on the sales volume and price trend for previously owned homes. In the upcoming release, it’ll likely say home prices are down. This may feel a bit confusing, especially if you’ve been following along and seeing the blogs saying that home prices...

A Drop in Equity Doesn’t Mean Low Equity

You may see media coverage talking about a drop in homeowner equity. What’s important to understand is that equity is tied closely to home values. So, when home prices appreciate, you can expect equity to grow. And when home prices decline, equity does too. Here’s how this has played out recently. Home prices rose rapidly during the ‘unicorn’ years. That gave homeowners a considerable equity...

Are Home Prices Going Up or Down? That Depends…

Media coverage about what’s happening with home prices can be confusing. A large part of that is due to the type of data being used and what they’re choosing to draw attention to. For home prices, there are two different methods used to compare home prices over different time periods: year-over-year (Y-O-Y) and month-over-month (M-O-M). Here's an explanation of each. Year-over-Year (Y-O-Y):This...

Why You Can’t Compare Now to the ‘Unicorn’ Years of the Housing Market [INFOGRAPHIC]

Some HighlightsComparing housing market metrics from one year to another can be challenging in a normal housing market – and the last few years have been anything but normal. In a way, they were ‘unicorn’ years.Expect unsettling housing market headlines this year, mostly due to unfair comparisons with the ‘unicorn’ years.Connect with a local real estate professional who can share the data that...

This Real Estate Market Is the Strongest of Our Lifetime

When you look at the numbers today, the one thing that stands out is the strength of this housing market. We can see this is one of the most foundationally strong housing markets of our lifetime – if not the strongest housing market of our lifetime. Here are two fundamentals that prove this point. 1. The Current Mortgage Rate on Existing MortgagesFirst, let’s look at the current rate on existing...

Real Estate Is Still Considered the Best Long-Term Investment

With all the headlines circulating about home prices and rising mortgage rates, you may wonder if it still makes sense to invest in homeownership right now. A recent poll from Gallup shows the answer is yes. In fact, real estate was voted the best long-term investment for the 11th consecutive year, consistently beating other investment types like gold, stocks, and bonds (see graph below):If you’re...

Oops! Home Prices Didn’t Crash After All

During the fourth quarter of last year, many housing experts predicted home prices were going to crash this year. Here are a few of those forecasts:Jeremy Siegel, Russell E. Palmer Professor Emeritus of Finance at the Wharton School of Business:“I expect housing prices fall 10% to 15%, and the housing prices are accelerating on the downside.”Mark Zandi, Chief Economist at Moody’s Analytics:"Buckle...

Today’s Real Estate Market: The ‘Unicorns’ Have Galloped Off

Comparing real estate metrics from one year to another can be challenging in a normal housing market. That’s due to possible variability in the market making the comparison less meaningful or accurate. Unpredictable events can have a significant impact on the circumstances and outcomes being compared. Comparing this year’s numbers to the two ‘unicorn’ years we just experienced is almost worthless....

The Benefits of Selling Now, According to Experts

If you’re trying to decide if now’s the time to sell your house, here’s what you should know. The limited number of homes available right now gives you a big advantage. That’s because there are more buyers out there than there are homes for sale. And, with so few homes on the market, buyers will have fewer options, so you set yourself up to get the most eyes possible on your house.Here’s what...

Powerful Job Market Fuels Homebuyer Demand

The spring housing market has been surprisingly active this year. Even with affordability challenges and a limited number of homes for sale, buyer demand is strong, and getting stronger.One way we know there are interested buyers right now is because showing traffic is up. Data from the latest ShowingTime Showing Index, which is a measure of buyers actively touring homes, makes it clear more people are out...

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