The housing barometer continues trending upward. Experts contribute 2017 national home sales to factors like the presidential election, a healthy economy, positive employment reports, and a fear of interest rate increases. Whatever the cause, as a whole, the numbers are positive and paint a promising, long-term projection.
Even with national home sales on the rise, savvy real estate investors look for the more promising pockets with higher returns. Some locales in the South, Northeast, and West experienced higher growth compared to the national average. Some cities produce better fix-and-flip ROI, while others yield more lucrative opportunities with high-rise, residential units.
National Home Sales: Strong Year Over Year Growth
According to the latest RE/MAX National Housing Report, national home sales increased 4.3 percent compared to this time last year. While April sales took a dip, May posted a 20-percent jump from the prior month, which RE/MAX says is the highest figure since it began compiling data some nine years ago.
The strongest year-over-year (YOY) growth occurred in the following cities.
- Albuquerque, NM: 20.8% increase in sales
- Tulsa, OK: 13.4% increase
- Las Vegas, NV: 12.2% increase
- Honolulu, HI: 11.5% increase
- Phoenix, AZ: 11.3% increase
Median Home Sale Prices Continue to Rise
The median sales price also continues growing with some cities like Seattle, WA increasing their YOY numbers by double digits. As of May, the national average peaked at $232,500, a rise of 2.9 percent from the previous month and an increase of 3.6 percent compared to May of last year.
The cities leading the way in YOY median sale price include:
- Manchester, NH: 13.2% increase in median sale price
- Seattle, WA: 12.8% increase
- Tampa, FL: 12.8% increase
- Las Vegas, NV: 10.7% increase
- Dallas/Fort Worth, TX: 10.7% increase
Other cities with above average median sale price increases: Charlotte, NC; San Diego, CA; Portland, OR; Minneapolis, MN; Boston, MA; Denver, CO; New York, NY; Miami, FL; Los Angeles, CA; Atlanta, GA; and Cleveland, Ohio.
Experts say as long as inventory numbers flirt with record lows, expect median home prices to continue their ascent, giving sellers the advantage. Compared to May, 2016, the number of houses on the market dropped over 16 percent, leaving most markets with less than a three-month supply of houses for sale. So much demand and so little supply creates bidding wars where only the most qualified buyers secure homes.
Factors that are Great for Investing
Thanks to this phenomena, apartment occupancy rates and house renting are at all-time highs. This is music to investors’ ears, especially those investing in high-rise residential buildings. See Queens, NY, home to millions of people and dozens of new residential skyscrapers currently in the works.
Investing in multifamily complexes is easy and affordable with Sharestates.
Additionally, houses sell fast with the national average for days on the market at 51 days, but in some cities, homes sell in as little as 20 days. This makes for great fix-and-flip environments where investors buy and rehab homes then sell them for big gains.
Cities where flippers report the biggest gains include:
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Tampa, FL
- New Orleans, LA
- Nashville, TN
- Oklahoma City, OK
- Columbia, SC
- Pensacola, FL
- Lancaster, PA
- Knoxville, TN
- Sioux Falls, SD
- Cleveland, OH
- Chicago, IL
- Baltimore, MD
Forecasters anticipate housing numbers to continue to trend upward but at a slower pace. If median prices persist at record highs, combined with tough, loan-qualifying metrics, affordability becomes a real problem, reports Forbes. This, plus the uncertainty of interest rates and the unrest in the country’s political arena proves crowdfunding real estate investments makes a lot of sense.
