Most agree that home prices have risen, and are still on the rise. We have written about why this is not like the housing bubble that we saw nearly ten years ago. In some areas, there are not enough homes for sale to meet the demands of home buyers, and prices are driven up organically. see – Low Housing Inventory Driving Values Up – Benchmark

The Good News

While this can make things more difficult for some home buyers, there is a bright side. The average household in the US gained over $11,000 in equity in the last year owing, at least in part, to rising home values, according to CoreLogic’s most recent US Economic Outlook.

This map is originally provided by CoreLogic’s report. This shows the average, by state, of home equity gained per homeowner from June 2015 to June 2016. The national average equity gain per homeowner was $11,152.

 

 

To address any fears that this nationwide appreciation harkens back to the bubble burst a decade ago, please recognize that homeowners are investing this new equity in their homes and in themselves rather than in speculation or assets subject to standard depreciation.

What does this mean? This means that it is probably helping families to pay for college, start small businesses, pay off their mortgage faster, or moving to a home more suited to their dreams or lifestyle.

What Does The Future Hold?

CoreLogic’s predictions are that home prices will rise another 5% by this date in 2017. Would you believe that it is still cheaper to buy than to rent? Stay tuned for our next post!