Home prices are continuing to appreciate, just not as rapidly as before.
Prices rose by 3.4% in June from the year before, according to the latest data from CoreLogic.
On a month-over-month basis, prices rose just 0.4% from May to June, but CoreLogic predicts the leap from June to July will see prices rise slightly higher at 0.5%. (See chart below; click to enlarge.)
CoreLogic Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said apathetic home sales are to blame.
“Tepid home sales have caused home prices to rise at the slowest pace for the first half of a year since 2011,” Nothaft said.
But, prices for single-family homes remain at an all-time high and are continuing to grow, CoreLogic revealed, predicting homes in this market will accelerate price growth to 5.2% by this time next year.
Limited inventory of entry-level homes has pushed up demand and therefore prices for homes in this category, and Nothaft said this will help drive home price growth for the second half of the year.
“Price growth continues to be faster for lower-priced homes, as first-time buyers and investors are both actively seeking entry-level homes,” Nothaft said. “With incomes up and current mortgage rates about 0.8 percentage points below what they were one year ago, home sales should have a better sales pace in the second half of 2019 than a year earlier, leading to a quickening in price growth over the next year.”
