Today’s Housing

WHAT’S THE STATE of the property market? Here are the latest statistics:

• Home prices rose 4.8% in the 12 months through October 2023, as measured by S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index. Among major cities, Detroit, San Diego and New York posted gains of 7%-plus. Meanwhile, Portland was the weakest major urban market, down 0.6%. Nationally, home prices are up 133.5% since the early 2012 market low, but are just 69.5% above the mid-2006 peak.
• Existing single-family homes sold for a median $392,100 in November 2023, up 3.5% from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. Meanwhile, existing condos sold for $350,100, up 8.6% from November 2022. These averages disguise huge variations, with even modest homes in cities on the two coasts often costing three or five times as much.
• As of year-end 2023, a 30-year fixed rate mortgage cost 6.6%, up from 6.4% at year-end 2022.
• Housing affordability plunged in 2022 and 2023, calculates the National Association of Realtors. Affordability is assessed by looking at the typical home price, typical family income and current mortgage rates. Both home prices and mortgage rates have soared over the past few years, and the rise in median incomes has failed to offset these higher housing costs.
• First-time home buyers have a median age of 26, a median household income of $71,000 and account for 26% of house purchases, says the National Association of Realtors. Sellers had typically been in their home for 10 years.
• If you remodel your home and then sell within a year, you’ll typically recoup some 35% of the money—meaning you’ll lose 65 cents of every $1 spent, according to the 2023 cost vs. value report from Remodeling magazine.
• As of 2022, 66% of American families owned their home and 13% owned a place that isn’t their main residence, according to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances. That 13% includes second homes, rental properties and time shares. The survey also found that, among homeowners, 63.9% have a mortgage or other debt that’s secured by their home.

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