Housing Trends

With a national real estate market that’s been positively bonkers and unpredictable over the past three years, you may find yourself wondering what it’s up to this week. Because the markets are so unpredictable, things change often and quickly. Towards the end of 2022, mortgage rates bloomed from the mid-threes to twenty-year highs over 7%. They’ve fallen now into the sixes, while home prices are still climbing in some areas and dipping in others. 

What About My Area?

If you’re wondering if we’re in a housing bubble that might burst, it helps to look at local trends. That’s where our friends at Realtor.com come in. Last week they looked at the 250 largest U.S. metropolitan areas which collectively count for 85% of the country’s population and tracked pricing trends year-over-year. 

March 2023 saw a median house price of $424,495 which is 6% higher than the median home price of March 2022, which was $399,450. There are also fewer homes on the market this year, about 15% fewer in fact. This spells out a worry that buyers are spending more for houses with a higher interest rate. These price hikes box out a lot of people from the housing market. 

Their findings were that across the U.S., but most increasingly in the midwest and south, homes are being listed above last year’s asking prices. Omaha, NE was noted as the market with the largest jump: an 80% rise in prices year-over-year. 

Prices also rose dramatically in places like Jackson, TN, where they were up 59% year over year, to $223,000 in March and Champaign, IL, up 53%, to about $257,000. Our neighbor to the east, Fayetteville, NC, was also mentioned specifically as their market is up 44%, to $342,500.

To read about the few markets that are seeing price dips, visit Realtor.com.