September also marked the third consecutive month where the growth pace has risen, while mortgage affordability also improved, with rates dropping to 6.08 percent from August’s rate from the 6.5 percent.
Home prices rose 6 percent on a year over year basis, marking the lowest annual increase since December 2023, according to the Redfin’s Home Price Index, which uses the repeat sales method to calculate how real estate valuations change over time.
The increase in prices can be traced to high demand and a lack of housing supply. There are 20 percent fewer homes on the market today than there were a half decade ago, when people took advantage of historically low mortgage rates.
13 of the most populous metro areas in the United States recorded seasonally adjusted declines in home pricing in September on a month-over-month basis. San Antonio and Fort Worth saw prices drop by 1 percent and 0.5 percent respectively, while prices in Fort Lauderdale, FL fell by 0.9 percent.
New York’s Nassau County recorded a 1.7 percent rise in home pricing, the largest increase recorded in September. Philadelphia followed with a price increase of 1.6 percent, while Virginia Beach prices increased by 1.4 percent.
New home prices (including Boston condo for sale) are likely to rise again as the cost of lumber is accelerating once more.
The rising price of lumber will likely add thousands of dollars to the price of new homes as it’s the single most important building material used in the development of most properties.
Lumber prices are said to be around triple their average pre-pandemic cost, according to lumber industry news site Random Lengths.
That cost increase has added an average of $18,600 to the price of a new home, the…