Need Another Reason to Buy Now?

Single Family rental prices are up 2.9 percent this April compared to April one year ago according to CoreLogic’s Single-Family Rental Index.

Rents on lower-priced rental homes have increased (2.7%) whereas rents on higher-priced homes has only slightly increased (1.1%). Rent growth varies depending on the metro area you are currently living in but the increase across 20 of the larger metros has been around 5.9 percent.

The Foreclosure rate is now back to pre-crisis levels. Unemployment has reached an 18-year low and has enabled more homeowners to remain current on their mortgage payments. In April 2018, the national foreclosure rate was 0.6 percent which is a 4 percent drop from the peak from July 2011 to April 2012. Most of the mortgages that remain outstanding were originated between 2004 and 2008 when mortgage standards were lax.

In the 10 largest U.S. Metro areas, the typical mortgage payment remains below pre-crisis peaks for homebuyers. One way to check home affordability is to calculate a “typical mortgage payment.” Use Freddie Mac’s average 30-year fixed rate mortgage and apply 20 percent down payment. This will not include taxes or insurance but will give you a good feel for what monthly payment you would need to qualify. This is a good indicator of home affordability in your area. You can use this experiment on average sale prices across all price levels, low, medium and high.

Nationally home prices increased 6.7 percent year-over-year in July 2018 with lower priced home values increasing faster than medium or higher priced homes. CoreLogic analyzes four individual home-price tiers calculated relative to the median national home sale price. The lowest price tier has increased 9.1 percent year-over-year.

So, with the information provided above we see that rents are increasing, foreclosures are down, employment is up, home prices are increasing, and mortgage rates are still historically low. How much more motivation do you need?