If you are considering selling your current home, to either move up to a
larger home or into a home in an area that better suits your current family
needs, great news was just revealed.
Last week, Trulia posted a blog,
Not Your Father’s HousingMarket, which examined home affordability over the last 40+ years (1975-2016). Their
research revealed that:
“Nationally, homes are
just about the most affordable they’ve been in the last 40 years… the median
household could afford a home 1.5 times more expensive than the median home
price. In 1980, the median household could only afford about 3/4 of the median
home price.
Despite relatively
stagnant incomes, affordability has grown due to the sharp drop in mortgage
rates over the last 30 years – from a high of over 16% in the 1980s to under 4%
by 2016.
Of the nation’s 100
largest metros, only Miami became unaffordable between 1990 and 2016.
Meanwhile, 22 metros have flipped from being unaffordable to becoming
affordable in that same time frame.”
Here is a graph showing the Affordability Index compared to the 40-year
average:
The graph shows that housing affordability is better now
than at any other time in the last forty years, except during the housing crash
last decade.
(Remember that during the
crash you could purchase distressed properties – foreclosures and short sales –
at 20-50% discounts.)
There is no doubt that with home prices and mortgage rates on the rise, the
affordability index will continue to fall. That is why if you are thinking of
moving up, you probably shouldn’t wait.
Bottom Line
If you have held off on moving up to your
family’s dream home because you were hoping to time the market, that time has
come. The Militello Team has been selling real estate North of Boston in Essex County on the North Shore for over 40 years. Put our experience to work for you!
(978) 815-3877 Joseph
(978) 500-1480 Kathleen
Vice-President/Realtor
Source: Keeping Current Matters!!!