Housing Recovery

People who don’t believe in the housing recovery will no doubt ignore the latest proof of its strength. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that most metro areas saw solid year-over-year price gains in the third quarter. The national median price posted its strongest annual growth in almost eight years. For existing single-family homes, the median price rose in 88% of the markets measured, based on Q3 closings, compared to last year.

However, with “the ongoing situation of more buyers than sellers in the market,” the NAR’s chief economist expects prices “to rise slowly at a single-digit growth rate in 2014.” This of course is good news for anyone worried about homes becoming less affordable. In addition, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said builder confidence in the 55+ housing market continued to improve in Q3 compared to a year ago. The single-family index hit the highest third quarter level since 2008, posting the eighth straight quarter of year-over-year gains.