REALTORS® report “low inventory”, “interest rates”, and “multiple offers” as the major issues affecting transactions in April 2018.
At the national level, housing affordability is down from last month and down from a year ago. Mortgage rates rose to 4.42 percent this March, up 8.2 percent compared to 4.28 percent a year ago.
Buyer demand continues to outpace supply of homes being listed for sale in the market, sustaining the upward pressure on home prices.
Respondents from the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia expect the highest price growth in the next 12 months.
The states with the highest estimated median property values in 2017 are Hawaii ($637,892), District of Columbia ($605,756), California ($522,431), Massachusetts ($396,992), and Colorado ($342,967).
Mortgage rates fell to 4.42 percent this February, down 0.2 percent compared to 4.43 percent a year ago.
Housing demand is strong where employment is also growing robustly.
The NAR Research team and realtor.com partnered to do an analysis of affordability at different income levels for all active inventory on the market.
Eighty-nine percent of respondents reported that home prices remained constant or rose in March 2018 compared to levels one year ago.
During the December 2017–February 2018, properties typically sold within one month in Washington, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota, Michigan, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia.
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