Morning Briefing: House prices edged 1.3 per cent higher in first quarter

House prices edged 1.3 per cent higher in first quarter… Men doing better than women for home equity… Increase in improving housing markets…

House prices edged 1.3 per cent higher in first quarter
US house prices were up by 1.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2016 according to the latest data from the FHA.  Prices in March showed a 0.7 per cent rise from February.

The FHA’s purchase-only seasonally-adjusted house price index climbed for the 19th consecutive quarter and as prices of other goods and services were largely static, the inflation adjusted HPI showed a 5.6 per cent annual increase in home prices.

Home prices rose in every state between the first quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016, led by Oregon (11.8 per cent), Florida (11.2 per cent), Washington (10.9 per cent), Nevada (9.4 per cent) and Colorado (9 per cent).
 
Men doing better than women for home equity
Homes owned by single men appreciate more than those owned by single women. The housing market gender gap has been revealed by RealtyTrac which found that on average a home owned by a man will be valued 10 per cent higher and appreciate 16 per cent more than a home owned by a woman.

“Women earn less than men on average giving them less purchasing power when it comes to buying a home,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at RealtyTrac. “So it’s not surprising to see the 10 percent gender gap in average home values between single men and single women homeowners; however, the slower home price appreciation for homes owned by single women demonstrates that less purchasing power is also having on a domino effect on their ability to build wealth through homeownership as quickly as single men.”

The average estimated current market value of homes owned by single men was $255,226 while those owned by single women average $229,094. Men average a 33 per cent return on purchase price, for women it is 31 per cent.
 
Increase in improving housing markets
The number of housing markets that are improving has increased. The latest Multi-Indicator Market Index from Freddie Mac shows that 36 of the 50 states plus DC are within range of their historic benchmark averages.  DC, Hawaii, Colorado, Montana and Utah are the top 5.

Sixty-five of the 100 metros are within range of their historic benchmark averages with Salt Lake City, Honolulu, LA, Nashville and Austin in the top 5.

In March, 41 of the 50 states and 84 of the top 100 metros were showing an improving three-month trend.