Frontline Florida Realty Blog

Market update

August 18th, 2015 10:21 AM by alan Martin

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK... "I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man I keep his house." --Zsa Zsa Gabor, Hungarian-born American actress

INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE... Zsa Zsa's "marvelous" skills could be seeing nice returns for her in the current housing market. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that in Q2, the national median existing home price was UP 8.2% over Q2 of 2014. Single family home prices posted gains in 93% of metropolitan areas--that's 163 out of 176--up from 85% of markets showing increases in Q1. The nineteen best-performing metro areas saw double-digit gains. The NAR's chief economist attributes rising prices to rising demand brought on by steady rent increases, a slower than expected rise in mortgage rates, and stronger local job markets.

Funny about those rising rents. An online listing site's analysis of rental affordability in Q2 reports renters are paying an average of 30.2% of their income on rent. That's the highest percentage ever, looking at data going back to 1979. From 1995 to 2000, renters spent on average a little more than 24% of income on rent. Home buyers overall seem to have a better attitude about borrowing. A behavioral finance analyst found that consumers are now less financially stressed than they were back in January. He says the reasons are: the improving labor market, the prospect of future employment in higher paying jobs, and a rise in current earnings.

Posted in:General

Posted by alan Martin on August 18th, 2015 10:21 AM

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