According to Realtor.com U.S. home prices increased 5.7%, year-over-year in August. This is the largest price increase over the past two years. Considering how strong the housing market has been over the past two years this is truly impressive considering the current economic conditions. Historic low interest rates, extremely low inventory and a shift in priorities for more living space have fueled the housing market.
With the 2020 election quickly approaching politics are on top of mind for most Americans. No matter what side of the political aisle you’re on it’s interesting to take a look at how housing differs between Red and Blue states. Here are some of the highlights according to the article on Realtor.com.
Existing home sales increased 9.4% in September which extended the streak of increased sales to 4 consecutive months. Typically home sales tend to taper off in the fall but due to record low interest rates and a delay of the busy Spring buying season (due to the shutdowns) the busy buying season has extended through September. According to the article on Realtor.com, 7 of 10 homes sold within a month.
According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Price Index, housing prices increased 3.5% in June 2020 over June of last year. This does not come as a surprise since after the country began to reopen, the pent up demand along with record low inventory levels, created bidding wars and houses were flying off the shelves. Of course since real estate prices are highly impacted by local factors many cities saw increases much higher than 3.5%.
