In many cities, housing cost is rising faster than income and wages.
Tight supply of available homes in America’s metro areas pushed prices higher in 93% of measured markets in the third quarter according to the National Association of Realtors. Its quarterly report reveals that 166 of the 178 metropolitan areas showed price gains with the national median price for existing single-family homes reaching $280,200 (up 5.1% year-over-year). “Incremental price increases are to be expected, but the housing market has been seeing reacceleration in home prices as more buyers want to take on lower interest rates in the midst of insufficient supply,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “Unfortunately, income and wages are not rising as fast and will make it difficult to buy once rates rise.” Among the 178 metros, 96 posted annual price gains of more than 5% with 10 posting double-digit increases.
Source: Mortgage Professional America