Potential buyers may want to turn their attention to the South, as new data shows that country is experiencing an affordable housing boom.
Some 56.7 percent of all available homes in April were located in Southern states, according to a new report from Realtor.com.
On-hand inventory increased 19.7 percent year-over-year, while it increased 18.4 percent in the Midwest, 7.5 percent in the West and 2.9 percent in the Northeast.
The national housing shortage has been a key factor in keeping prices artificially high in the face of soaring mortgage rates.
However, Realtor.com’s analysis suggests the trend is reversing. Over the past three months, the number of homes priced between $200,000 and $350,000 entering the market has outpaced all other price categories.
Potential buyers may want to turn their attention to the South, as new data shows that country is experiencing an affordable housing boom. Austin (pictured) saw new housing listings increase 36.1% year-over-year
Some 56.7 percent of all available homes in April were located in Southern states, according to a new report from Realtor.com. New listings in Atlanta (pictured) increased 27.4% since last year
The southern metropolitan areas that saw the greatest inventory growth were located in Florida.
Tampa saw a 69.5 percent increase in available housing, while Orlando and Jacksonville saw 64.2 percent and 59.1 percent, respectively.
Danielle Hale, chief economist for Realtor.com, said, “The number of homes actively for sale was significantly higher than last year.
“Sellers continued to list homes at a higher rate than last year. This has led to a promising increase in the number of more affordable homes for sale, particularly in the South.
Overall, house prices increased seasonally, from $424,900 in March to $430,000 in April – a figure that remained stable compared to last year.
“On one side, there is a small contingent of buyers who really want housing prices to collapse so that affordability improves and they can become homeowners,” Hale said.
“This group is likely disappointed by flat-rate pricing. But when affordability is at its long-term lowest, a stable price trend is one way the market corrects itself.
The national housing shortage has been a key factor in keeping prices artificially high in the face of soaring mortgage rates. Dallas (pictured) saw the number of available housing units increase by 20.7%
The number of new home listings in Jacksonville, Florida (pictured) increased 22.5% over the past year.
The housing market has remained surprisingly buoyant, even though experts predicted high mortgage rates would dampen demand.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate home loan is currently 7.17%, according to data from Freddie Mac.
Home loans have been pushed higher by the Federal Reserve’s aggressive tightening cycle that has pushed interest rates to their highest level in 23 years.
In real terms, this means that a buyer purchasing a $400,000 property with a 10% down payment will have monthly payments of $2,436.
But if the same person had purchased a property in April 2021 – when rates were 2.98% – they would only pay $1,513 per month.
Economists predict that this trend would create a “lock-in” effect, as buyers who secured 30-year loans when rates were at historic lows are now reluctant to give up their cheap deals.
But the housing shortage has kept prices high despite falling demand.
Additionally, buyers were spurred on by expectations that the Fed would cut interest rates this year.
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