Timid House Price Appreciation Drives April 2019's Housing Affordability
April 2019 saw home prices dip 0.9%, a 0.72% year-over-year decline according to First American's Real House Price Index. The company also revealed that unadjusted house prices sat at 2.8% and consumer buying power increased 1.5% between March and April, according to HousingWire.
"Declining mortgage rates have encouraged demand by increasing house-buying power, however, when demand increases for a scarce (limited or low supply) good, prices will rise faster," said First American's Chief Economist Mark Fleming, according to the report.
"In April, the rate of year-over-year nominal house price appreciation increased to 5.9%, compared with 5.8% in March."
The largest growth in affordability came from America's West Coast according to the report. Fleming also told HousingWire that 43 of the 44 markets tracked saw affordability improve month-over-month.
"The five markets to experience the largest growth in annual affordability were San Jose, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, according to First American," according to the report.
To learn more about April's housing affordability, click on the image above.
