Summit Valuations, LLC, a full service valuation company, announced the release of its April Residential Real Estate Market Overview based on data compiled in February 2017, the most current industry information available. This month’s report includes an analysis of home price appreciation across the country and a forecast of future price appreciation trends from Chief Valuation Officer Mark Melikian.
“Home prices have increased in all four US regions over the past five years with some regions experiencing greater gains than others,” Melikian said in his report. “An analysis of nationwide trends provides insight into why this has occurred, and why it is likely to continue into the near future.”
Home prices are increasing the most in the West, the region that has seen the greatest percentage increase over the past five years. California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington are all located in this region. Those states, collectively, are home to a significant percentage of high-tech and creative marketing companies, Melikian pointed out.
Despite the high housing costs in some markets in the West, the data shows homebuyers are moving out of the Midwest and Northeast regions and heading to the West and South, which has resulted in home prices appreciating at a greater percentage in those regions. States in the West and South tend to have relatively milder winters, which is attracting homebuyers and contributing to increasing home prices. An aging baby-boom population seeking mild climates in retirement is one reason these regions have experienced a higher gain in home prices, the report said.
“At what point these home price increases create unaffordable housing conditions remains to be seen,” Melikian said. “Mild climates and well-paying jobs continue to attract new residents to these regions. It appears likely the price increase trend will continue into the near future.”
On a regional level, the South had the highest number of existing home sales and the West had the highest median price. The South experienced a month-over-month gain in the number of seasonally adjusted existing home sales while all other regions saw declines. The Northeast and Midwest experienced declines in the median sales price month-over-month, while prices in the South and West increased, the report said.