Skip to main content

Real House Prices on the Rise

Jan 29, 2018
Real house prices in November increased 0.5 percent from October and increased five percent year-over-year

Real house prices in November increased 0.5 percent from October and increased five percent year-over-year, according to data from First American Financial Corp. Unadjusted house prices increased by six percent in November on a year-over-year basis and are 6.3 percent above the housing boom peak in 2007.
 
The five markets with the greatest year-over-year increase in real house prices during November were San Jose (14 percent); Las Vegas (13.6 percent); Seattle (10.7 percent); Columbus, Ohio (10.2 percent); and Jacksonville, Fla. (10.1 percent). Pittsburgh had negative growth, recording a 2.5 percent year-over-year decline.
 
Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American, cited this data to question whether there is a problem with affordability in homeownership.
 
“That nominal house prices are growing faster than household incomes is often used as the basis for arguing that we are facing an affordability crisis,” said Fleming. “Yet, overlooked in the comparison of income growth and unadjusted house price growth is that a change in household income is not the only factor that influences how much home one can afford to buy. A consumer’s house-buying power, how much one can afford to buy, is also based on changes in mortgage interest rates. Even if one’s income doesn’t change, but interest rates go down, house-buying power increases. Consumer house-buying power, based on changes in income and interest rates, was unchanged between October and November and actually improved by 1 percent, compared with a year ago. In fact, consumer house-buying power is 2.3 times higher than it was in 2000, almost two decades ago. It’s also only 2.9 percent below the peak in July 2016.”

 
About the author
Published
Jan 29, 2018
Fed Holds Rates Steady As Economic Growth Stays Solid

Move comes amid mounting pressure, frustration from President Trump

Guild Mortgage To Go Private In $1.3B Deal With Bayview Asset Management

Guild to remain independent post-acquisition, strengthening national retail and servicing strategy

Jun 18, 2025
Rocket Pro And Vetted VA Join Forces

What started as a Facebook group now educates 100K+ veterans monthly — Vetted VA and Rocket Pro working to bring ethics, clarity to a broken system

Jun 17, 2025
MBA Urges Shift To Single Credit Report Model, Citing Cost Savings And Efficiency

MBA says tri-merge credit checks cost lenders up to $100 per loan, doubling since pre-COVID, as industry pushes for a cheaper, single-report model

Jun 16, 2025
Fairway Acquires Hallmark Home Mortgage Through Asset Purchase

Hallmark to become new Fairway division, gets access to Fairway's Fairway's product portfolio, tech, and support resources

Jun 13, 2025
Trigger Leads Bill Clears Senate

Final push now left to House; reconciled bill needed next