Today’s Housing

WHAT’S THE STATE of the property market? Here are the latest statistics:

• Home prices rose 3.6% in the 12 months through October 2024, as measured by S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index. Home prices are up 142% since the early 2012 market low, but are just 75.6% above the mid-2006 peak.
• Existing single-family homes sold for a median $410,900 in November 2024, up 4.8% from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. Meanwhile, existing condos sold for $359,800, up 2.8% from November 2023. These averages disguise huge variations, with even modest homes in cities on the two coasts often costing three or five times as much.
• As of year-end 2024, a 30-year fixed rate mortgage cost 6.85%, up from 6.6% at year-end 2023.
• Housing affordability improved modestly in 2024, calculates the National Association of Realtors. Affordability is assessed by looking at the typical home price, typical family income and current mortgage rates.
• First-time home buyers have a median age of 28, a median household income of $97,000 and account for 24% of house purchases, says the National Association of Realtors. Sellers had typically been in their home for 10 years.
• If you remodel your home and then sell within a year, you’ll usually recoup only a portion of the cost involved, according to the cost vs. value report from Remodeling magazine. What if you wait longer to sell? You’ll get more pleasure from the improvements, but likely recoup even less, as your remodeling projects look increasingly shabby.
• As of 2022, 66% of American families owned their home and 13% owned a place that isn’t their main residence, according to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances. That 13% includes second homes, rental properties and time shares. The survey also found that, among homeowners, 63.9% have a mortgage or other debt that’s secured by their home.

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