Sun Belt Cities See Surge In Rent Costs

Rents have been rising nationwide, squeezing Americans hoping to save for a down payment or to reduce debt. But a new analysis from the Bank of America Institute found that renters in the Sun Belt have felt the worst of it. Median rent payment growth in Sun Belt cities like Phoenix and Tampa outpaced Western and Northeastern cities by more than 20 percentage points in February, leaders at the Institute said. Overall, Bank of America customers saw their rents increase by 8% YOY in February. Growth changed dramatically by geography. Phoenix and Tampa both saw rent costs increase by 26% and 23% YoY respectively in February. These are both record highs. Cities like Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Boston saw smaller…

Multifamily’s Stunning 2022 Reversal Leaves Pandemic Hotspots In The Red

Multifamily saw a stunning reversal in the fourth quarter of 2022 as apartment supply finally surpassed demand, creating a “swift and unprecedented” downturn. A new report from Apartments.com found that multifamily fundamentals declined in Q4, driven largely by limited absorption and supply/demand imbalances. “We ended the year with absorption barely remaining positive and vacancy rates trending upwards. As 2022 progressed, economic uncertainty suppressed household formations which limited multifamily demand,” said Jay Lybik, National Director of Multifamily Analytics at CoStar Group, which owns Apartments.com. “With 2023’s national forecast predicting the highest new supply totals since the 1980s, expect vacancy to rise above 7% and rent growth to push much lower.” More than 95,000 new units were delivered last quarter but many…

Hitting The Market During The Holidays? What Sellers And Buyers Need To Know

By KIMBERLEY HAAS The housing market traditionally cools during the holiday season as people focus on family and friends but industry leaders say it is a good time for potential sellers and buyers to weigh their options. After mortgage rates recently surged above 7%, real estate activity and consumer sentiment took a nosedive. Home delistings hit a record high in November as sellers and buyers pulled out of the market, according to journalists Lily Katz and Ben Walzer at Redfin. Markets where home prices skyrocketed during the pandemic are now cooling the fastest. In Sacramento, Calif., an average of 3.6% of active listings were delisted per week during the 12 weeks ending on November 27, up 1.6 percentage points from one year earlier.…

Sun Belt Deals Called Off As Housing Market Slumps

By CHUCK GREEN During the pandemic homebuyers fled to southern states for warmer weather but now would-be purchasers are bailing out of deals at a faster clip than anywhere in the country. According to analysts at Redfin, 60,000 deals were called off nationally in September. That’s 17% of the homes that went under contract that month. In Florida, Jacksonville had 745 home-purchase agreements fall through, equal to 30.3% of homes that went under contract. That was the highest percentage among the metros Redfin analyzed. They were followed by San Antonio, TX (25.3%), Atlanta, GA (25%), Orlando, FL (24.6%), and Tampa, FL (24.5%). In August, about 800 home purchase agreements were tabled in Jacksonville. That’s 26.1% of homes that went under contract…

Home Price Growth Remains High, But Slows For Second Month Straight

Home price appreciation slowed for the second month straight in June, but remains in the high double-digits. CoreLogic’s Home Price Index found that home prices increased by 18.3% YOY in June, the 125th month of consecutive annual price growth. This is down from May’s 20.2% YOY increase. CoreLogic attributes the cool-off to reduced buyer demand from rising interest rates and concerns about the economy. Month-over-month, prices are down 0.6%. “Signs of a broader slowdown in the housing market are evident, as home price growth decelerated for the second consecutive month. This is in line with our previous expectations and given the notable cooling of buyer demand due to higher mortgage rates and the resulting increased cost of homeownership,” said Selma…

Housing Costs Pushing Inflation Up In Sunbelt Migration Hotspots

Inflation is soaring in America’s most popular migration locations, in part because of their boost of new residents and high home price appreciation, Redfin reported. Phoenix, Atlanta, Tampa, and Miami saw double-digit inflation in Q2 2022. They are also all high migration areas that are popular among Redfin’s users. Inflation in Phoenix was up 11.3% YOY and is the third most popular city for Redfin.com users looking to move to a new city. Atlanta was the twelfth most popular and had an inflation rate of 10.9%. Next came Tampa, the second most popular destination on Redfin, with the third highest inflation rate at 10.6%, followed by Miami, the single most popular destination, with the fourth highest inflation at 10% flat.…

How Inflation Affects Housing

By TYRONE TOWNSEND The Federal Reserve has indicated that the central bank views inflation as a national emergency, with markets expecting a 0.75 percent interest rate rise. However, the Fed’s policy measures could come at a high cost, notably in the housing market.  Low mortgage rates and a lack of housing inventory during COVID-19 lockdowns sent home prices skyrocketing during the last two years. The housing market is cooling as mortgage rates have gone up and even surpassed 6 percent. Although this may be an acceptable short-term price to pay in the fight against inflation, it will cause future supply-chain issues after inflation is under control.  Before the pandemic, a six-month supply of homes for sale was considered a sign…

Will The Housing Market Boom Or Bust In 2022?

By KIMBERLEY HAAS As the spring selling season begins, people in the mortgage and real estate industries are speculating on whether 2022 will be a year of growth or the start of the end for a red-hot market that has favored sellers and forced up the price of housing in many parts of the country. Numbers from the start of the year look promising for growth. On Tuesday, S&P Dow Jones Indices released the latest results for the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices. A 19.2% annual gain was reported in January, up from 18.9% in December. The 10-City Composite annual increase was 17.5%, up from 17.1% in December. The 20-City Composite posted a 19.1% year-over-year gain, up from 18.6% in the previous…

Austin Home Values Equivalent To Ecuador’s Total GDP

December 2021 saw a record annual surge in US home value, the largest gain seen in any December since at least 2001, according to a new analysis of Redfin’s Housing Value Index. U.S. home value rose 18.6% year-over-year (YOY) to $38.6 trillion. Austin, TX, saw home values double that, jumping 39.2% YOY. That shakes out to $365.9 billion, roughly the 2020 GDP of Ecuador and the biggest gain of any metro tracked by Redfin. December marked the 17th consecutive month of double-digit price gains as inventory shrank to a record low. Cape Coral, FL, saw the second-highest gains (36.9%), followed by Grand Rapids, MI (33.1%), Phoenix (32.8%), and Boise, ID (32.8%). Cape Coral and Phoenix have consistently made the list…

Home Prices Grew 18.5% In 2021, Should Cool In 2022

Home prices rose year-over-year (YOY) by 18.5% across the nation in December 2021, and by 1.3% from November, CoreLogic’s latest Home Price Index reported. Home price growth averaged 15% for 2021, which saw one of the hottest housing markets in decades. Q1 2021 started off with 10% appreciation but continued to grow, reaching 18% in Q4. By comparison, price appreciation for the full year of 2020 averaged only 6%. The states with the highest increases YOY were Arizona (28.4%), Florida (27.1%), and Utah (25.2%). The cities with the biggest gains were Phoenix (30.2%), Las Vegas (24.4%), and San Diego (22.4%). CoreLogic predicts that home prices will remain flat this month and rise by only 3.5% by next December. Comparing annual…