Home prices rise in April, upward trend predicted to continue through summer

Home prices increased 6.9 percent year-to-year from April 2017 to April 2018.

They also jumped 1.2 percent month-to-month from March 2018, according to CoreLogic Home Price Insights for April 2018. Prices are expected to go up 0.2 percent by May 2018, and by April 2019, home prices should increase by 5.3 percent year-to-year, the report predicts.

In Pennsylvania, home prices were up only 3.6 percent year-to-year, and up 0.4 percent from March 2018 to April 2018. CoreLogic predicts home prices in the commonwealth will go up 0.4 percent in May, and rise 5.4 percent from April 2018 to April 2019.

“The best antidote for rising home prices is additional supply,” said CoreLogic Chief Economist Frank Nothaft. “New construction has failed to keep up with and meet new housing growth or replace existing inventory. More construction of for-sale and rental housing will alleviate housing cost pressures.”

Across the country’s 100 largest metro areas, 40 metros are overvalued, 32 metros percent are at value and 28 metros are undervalued. An overvalued housing market is defined as one in which housing prices are 10 percent or more higher than a long-term, sustainable level, while undervalued housing market prices are 10 percent or more below a long-term, sustainable level.

In Pennsylvania, only one metro, State College, continues to be overvalued. This trend is expected to continue for at least the next five years. With a large population of college students, along with a fan base for Penn State football, it is easy to see why home prices haven’t budged. The rest of Pennsylvania is pretty evenly split as either valued or undervalued.