U.S. house prices gained 5.1% in Q4

U.S. house prices increased 5.1% in the fourth quarter from a year ago, matching the pace of the prior quarter, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
It was the first time in two years the FHFA’s House Price Index didn’t show a slowdown in home-price gains, said ​Lynn Fisher, the FHFA’s deputy director for research and statistics.
“Falling interest rates and steady job growth renewed housing demand in 2019 and may have arrested the recent deceleration in home prices that began in 2018,” Fisher said in a statement.
The FHFA index is calculated using sales price information for single-family homes using mortgages sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Because of this, it excludes cash transactions and sales of high-end homes bought with jumbo loans.
Across the nine census divisions, the Mountain division saw the strongest appreciation growth, posting a 6.7% annual gain.
Appreciation was weakest in the New England division, where prices rose 3.9% between the fourth quarters of 2018 and 2019.
House prices rose in all 50 states and the District of Columbia during the fourth quarter, compared to a year earlier, the report said.  The top five states were Idaho and Utah, where prices climbed by 12% and 8.1%, respectively. Arizona, Washington and Indiana all gained 7%, the report said.
The areas with the smallest changes in annual appreciation were Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Mississippi and Louisiana where prices climbed by 1.9%, 2%, 2.1%, 2.8% and 3%, respectively.
These are the states located in each division previously mentioned:
Mountain: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico
New England: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crucial Coronavirus Cleaning Tips: How To Keep Your Home Germ-Free During the Pandemic

Image
How long the virus survives—and where it thrives The novel coronavirus can survive on surfaces anywhere from hours to days. The latest information is that it can last 24 hours on cardboard, 48 to 72 hours on plastic, and 48 to 72 hours on stainless steel, says  Dr. Reuben Elovitz , internist and CEO at  Private Health Dallas , who cited a recent study from the  New England Journal of Medicine . The duration also depends on a few other factors, like temperature and whether a surface is prone to holding moisture. “Wooden handles, for example, are more likely to be damp than metal under normal conditions—and damp conditions can enable many infectious agents to thrive,” explains molecular biologist  Dr. Tracey Evans . “ Furthermore, a warm room is more favorable for many pathogens than a cold one.” Regardless of what kinds of temperatures and surfaces you have in your home, there are things you can do to keep these dangerous pathogens at bay. Ditch germs at ...
Read more

7 Ways to Create a Neighborly Front Yard

Image
1. Shade the Sidewalk Consider placing a tree where it will shade the sidewalk to help create a pleasant environment and encourage walking and visiting among neighbors. Trees provide rain and sun protection, and temperature differentials of 5 to 15 degrees are felt when walking on tree-canopied streets. In urban areas trees help mitigate the  heat-island effect  and provide a connection to nature. Most cities require permits for adding trees to a parkway (or hell strip), but permits are not usually required for planting on private property. Sean Papich Landscape Architecture 2. Set the Fence Back Placing a low fence or wall back a few feet from the edge of the sidewalk allows room for planting, and plants provide visual interest for pedestrians. In addition to cheerful  daisies  like these, velvety plants such as  lamb’s ears  ( Stachys byzantina ;   USDA zones 4 to 9;  find your zone ) would work well. June Scott Design ...
Read more

What’s New in Outdoor Lighting Design

Image
Linear Lighting There’s a trend toward the more extensive integration of lighting with modern hardscape elements. Sleek, minimalist linear step lighting illuminates a path while keeping light fixtures hidden from view. It also enables you to more easily highlight an architectural feature, such as stairs or a freestanding wall.  ZEN Associates, Inc. Laurie Ghielmetti Floating Structures Another trend is placing lights beneath landscape structures, creating the illusion that they are floating-- light is hidden to visually float steps, benches, bridges and other outdoor landscape elements. dSPACE Studio Ltd, AIA BEGA North America Sleek, Modern Fixtures A big trend is to use path lights that look more architectural, rather than the traditional flower or mushroom shapes. Pistils Landscape Design + Build Nightfall Landscape Lighting Low-Voltage Lighting While low-voltage lighting is not necessarily a new concept,...
Read more