Mortgage rates may remain stubbornly high, but home prices appear to be stabilizing and are already falling in certain cities, says a report from Realtor.com.
Finally, 11 US cities are seeing home prices declining, with home prices reaching a median of $442,500 in May.
That price is “relatively stable compared to the same period last year, when it was $441,000,” notes Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale.
Among the 50 largest cities in the United States, 20 show annual price declines since last year, and the metro with the steepest drop might surprise: Miami, where the median home price plummeted 11.2% over the year previous, at $439,000 dollars.
The real estate company notes that it is not clear whether any of these weakened prices will result in lower housing payments, because mortgage rates are so high that they have increased average monthly payments nationwide by 7.1%.
“Higher mortgage rates compared to last May still increased the monthly cost of financing 80% of the median home by about $158 compared to a year ago,” Hale says. “This increased the household income required to purchase the median-priced home by $6,400, to $119,700, after also taking into account the cost of taxes and insurance,” Hale explained.
So while homebuyers might still have to shell out more money now than in the past for the typical home, they can still mitigate this burden by targeting the right cities where prices are falling.
The 11 markets where offers could be found:
1. Miami, Florida
Median home price: $439,000
Year-over-year percentage change: -11.2%
2. Denver, Colorado
Median home price: $639,000
Year-over-year percentage change: -6.3%
3. Seattle, WA
Median home price: $777,000
Year-over-year percentage change: -5.5%
4. Kansas City, Missouri
Median home price: $440,000
Year-over-year percentage change: -4.9%
5. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Median home price: $339,000
Year-over-year percentage change: -4.3%
6. San Jose, California
Median home price: $1,469,000
Year-over-year percentage change: -4.0%
7. Tampa, Florida
Median home price: $425,000
Year-over-year percentage change: -3.2%
8. Austin, Texas
Median home price: $565,000
Year-over-year percentage change: -3.1%
9. Detroit, Michigan
Median home price: $260,000
Year-over-year percentage change: -3%
10. San Antonio, Texas
Median home price: $348,000
Year-over-year percentage change: -2.6%
11. Raleigh, North Carolina
Median home price: $462,000
Interannual percentage change: -2.6%
Keep reading:
· Real estate market myths that affect buyers and sellers in the US today.
· Housing: Home buyers benefit from another drop in interest rates
· Places homebuyers are moving to in the US.