Home prices up 5.6 percent year-over-year in September

Home prices saw an increase of 0.4 percent in September compared to August nationwide.

According to CoreLogic Home Price Insights for September 2018, home prices were up 5.6 percent in September 2018, compared to the previous September. The report forecasts that prices will go up 0.6 percent from September 2018 to October 2018, and will rise 4.7 percent year-to-year in September 2019. In Pennsylvania, home prices were up 3.8 percent year-to-year, and decreased 0.2 percent month-to-month. Looking forward, CoreLogic predicts home prices in Pennsylvania will rise 5.8 percent year-to-year in September 2019 and 0.3 percent month-to-month in October 2018.

The majority of metro areas in the commonwealth remain priced at undervalued or normal costs. Again, just the State College area and Bloomsburg-Berwick metro remain overvalued.

“The erosion of affordability in the highest cost markets has begun to slow home price growth,” said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Hawaii, California and Massachusetts had median sales prices above $400,000 this summer, the highest in the nation, while annual home price growth slowed steadily between June and September in these three states. When comparing September 2018 with September 2017, annual price appreciation slowed more in these states than in the U.S. overall. Nationally, annual price growth slowed 0.5 percentage points. However, in Hawaii, California and Massachusetts, growth rates decreased by 1.7, 0.7 and 1.0 percentage points, respectively.”

CoreLogic also released some results from a consumer housing sentiment study, finding that 40 percent of younger millennials who are potential buyers are extremely or very interested in homeownership, with nearly two-thirds “regularly monitoring” home prices in their community. Eighty percent of younger millennials plan to move in the next four or five years, but 73 percent said they struggle to afford the purchase of a home.

“Our consumer research indicates younger millennials want to purchase homes but the majority of them consider affordability a key obstacle,” said Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “Less than half of younger millennials who are currently renting feel confident they will qualify for a mortgage, especially in such a competitive environment.”